KI: Praelium Pondera
by brawlingwolf
Summary: Five years after the events of On the Wings of Light and Dark, Pit has reestablished the peace and his position protecting it. But it isn't long before a call from Viridi threatens to overturn everything he thinks he knows. Includes OCs, but no pairings with said OCs.
1. Chapter I: The Captain and Commander

Up in the clouds, far above the world of humans, was nestled Skyworld, the heavens, home to the goddess of Light and her followers. It was made up of floating islets spaced just close enough for one with wings to glide between, and most of the larger islets featured structures serving as gathering spots for the citizens or Hot Springs for them to soothe themselves and relax in. On one side of the cluster of islets, there stood a temple that served as home to the goddess as she kept watch over the Balance of her realm with the rest of the world and assured the peace that had reigned for the last five years would continue. On another side stood a large structure that served as a home for several of her warriors, including two champions, and a third side was the location of a large Hot Spring that only experienced gliders could reach. The fourth side, however, was dedicated to training grounds for the forces of the Sky, several bare islets that could be manipulated to suit the purposes needed.

There was a large number of the members of Skyworld's army gathered there: The Centurions, as they clustered around and watched one of their own face off against an able warrior that had earned the title of Captain of the goddess's guard. The captain dressed himself in a white tunic, belted at the waist, slung over both shoulders, and clasped over his right with what appeared to be a green gem set in a gold base. Under this, he wore a black undershirt and shorts reaching to just above his knees, and he wore sandal-like boots with beige straps keeping them in place on his shins. On each wrist he had a pale-gold brace, and nestled in his hair, parted on the left side of his face with his bangs messily brushed out of his face, was a golden laurel crown. His white wings, stretched out for a moment before confidently coming to rest behind him, seemed to glow in the bright sunlight.

The captain put on a challenging smile and motioned for the Centurion facing him to make a move. The Centurion responded by pulling back an arrow and racing forward with the wings on his helmet, letting it go quickly. The captain easily dodged around and, though he was armed with a sharp bow that split into two short swords, merely elbowed the Centurion in the back and forced him to the ground.

"And if that had been my blade," the captain mused, "then you'd be finished."

"But isn't that your job?" another Centurion laughed from the sidelines. The captain turned to face him and rolled his eyes.

"I wouldn't have to worry about my own skin if you all would toughen up a bit," he replied simply. Though his words were harsh, his tone was light, and he chuckled a bit.

"Kuro!" another voice called out, and the captain looked up, shaking his head to get his black hair out of his bright red eyes, and sighed as he saw the source of the voice.

"Yes, _Commander_ Pit?" he responded sarcastically. Pit laughed as he landed on the islet, letting his white wings fold gently once his feet touched the ground. The new overall commander of Skyworld's forces, second in leadership only to the goddess herself, was also garbed in a white tunic. But his was clasped over his left shoulder by a red gem and belted at the waist, and he wore a dark navy shirt and shorts under it. On his right wrist was an armor plate over a white cloth, and on his left was a brown cuff with gold parts on both ends and bright blue lines decorating it and forming a light green diamond. Slightly taming his spiky locks of brown hair, parted on his right and swept a bit more neatly to the side than Kuro's, was a golden laurel crown, and on his left upper arm was a gold band.

"Lady Palutena wants to see us," Pit replied simply. Kuro let out a slow breath and smirked, crossing his arms. "Hey, come on. The captain always has to be ready for duty, right?"

"What?" the red-eyed angel scoffed. "I'm doing my job. These Centurions won't learn ANYthing without me."

"Well, that'll have to be put on hold for a while," Pit chuckled. "Come on. She said it's important." Kuro frowned, demonstrating the thoughts going through the back of Pit's mind.

"Fine," he shrugged, putting on a strong face to cease any possible worries from the gathered Centurions. "Let's go." He spread his wings and quickly propelled himself into the air with Pit following close behind. Despite the somewhat ill feeling he had about what Palutena had in store for them, Pit couldn't help but smile at the rush of enthusiasm and excitement he gained when he took to the sky.

"This just doesn't get old, does it?" he laughed. Kuro turned to him with a smile and nodded.

"Well, we waited a long time for it."

"_I _waited a long time for it," Pit corrected. "Heck, you've only been in existence for- what- going on nine years now?"

"Still a long time," Kuro replied lightly.

"AND you stole Pandora's powers! For over three of those years, you could fly on your own anyway!"

"You forget that I was essentially nothing for three years of that," Kuro reminded him curtly. "You just HAD to get yourself turned into a ring, huh?"

"You think I had fun with that?" Pit grinned. "Oh well. You won't believe the sense of smell a dog has." Kuro shook his head.

"How anyone could trust someone like you as Commander is beyond me."

"Is that any way to talk to your superior officer?" Pit challenged.

"No, but that is how I'll talk to my brother," Kuro smiled, and any hostility sparked in Pit's heart evaporated.

"Fair enough," the blue-eyed angel nodded.

After Kuro, formerly known as "Dark Pit," had helped imprison Hades, the lord of the Underworld, about five years previous, Palutena had used her power to turn his dark wings white and essentially change his name to the nickname she and Pit had been using for him, seeing as being called "Pittoo" drove him near madness. Despite originally coming into existence via the Mirror of Truth as a reflection of Pit's "dark" side, the two had learned that they shared some sort of connection after an enemy known as the Chaos Kin had severed Pit's soul from his body and trapped it in a ring. Once he recovered his true self and gone off to challenge the Chaos Kin, who had taken control of Palutena, Kuro had joined him and the two had been fighting together ever since. Once Hades had returned after his first defeat and stolen Kuro's soul, however, the two discovered that their connection was truly them both sharing one soul.

Between that fact and their battles as allies, they grew to have something of a brotherly bond, and anyone around them tended to forget that they actually weren't siblings. As Palutena had put it, they acted, bickered, fought, and supported each other like brothers. And, even though they both were well aware of the fact that they would risk their lives for each other, a healthy rivalry still existed between them and they often competed about just about everything.

About two years after Kuro's place in Skyworld had been established, Palutena had come to Pit and informed him of something he both couldn't believe and wished she'd told him sooner: His wings, formerly flightless, had finally grown and matured enough for him to fly on his own- an act that had been his wish to achieve for years. Because of his, essentially, finally reaching what marked him as an adult by angelic standards, Palutena had stripped him of his position of Captain of her guard and given it to Kuro, whom had also gained flight as Pit's twin, and instead named him overall Commander of Skyworld's forces and her second-in-command. He took the position with pride and spent most of his time between supporting her in the ways she needed and helping Kuro train the mostly-useless Centurions.

After a short distance of flight, the angelic duo arrived at Palutena's temple and landed outside. They entered and hurried down the main corridor, coming to a large set of double doors inside leading to a brightly lit inner chamber. Standing up on a platform overlooking the chamber as she faced a fountain that she used to keep watch over the land was the goddess herself- staff gripped loosely in one hand.

"Lady Palutena," Pit beckoned, and both angels bowed as she turned around.

"Ah, Pit! Kuro! Thank you for coming so quickly." She descended to their level. "You may rise," she added with a smile, and they did as told.

"So, Lady Palutena," Kuro frowned for a moment. "What's going on?"

"Impatient as always, aren't you?" she replied, gazing at him.

"Well, yeah, but I also want to know what's bothering you," he shrugged, catching her off guard.

"What would make you think that?" she wondered, her smile fading, and Pit tilted his head to face him.

"One, you had Pit call me pretty promptly," he listed. "Two, I can see it in your eyes. You may look like everything is fine, but there's something weighing on your mind."

_Wow,_ Pit thought. _She looks so happy. I never would have figured that out._

"Very good, Kuro," Palutena nodded slowly. "We do have a bit of a problem. But…" her smile returned a bit. "Well, I'm not the one asking for your help."

"What do you mean?" Pit wondered, confused.

"Much as it pains me to say it," another voice echoed around his mind, "You chickens are a lot more competent- not to mention destructive- than my Children."

"Viridi?" the blue-eyed angel inquired.

"Yes, it's me," the goddess of Nature replied. "Look, I was asking Palutena if I could borrow both of you for something."

"I told her she could after she explained the problem to me," Palutena added. "But neither of us can really force you to do anything."

"What would we be doing?" Kuro asked flatly.

"I'll explain better when you get here," Viridi answered. "Just come to my temple and I'll tell you- then you can decide."

"And we have no say in that part, do we?" Kuro sighed. "Well, fine. If the prideful goddess of Nature is asking us for help, it's probably serious."

"No kidding," Pit agreed. "Are you sure you're okay with this, Lady Palutena?"

"Yes, I'm sure," she nodded. "Go ahead." The angels exchanged a glance.

"Should we go?" Pit wondered.

"Why not? Let's at least figure out what's going on," Kuro nodded.

"Alright." Palutena pointed her staff at the gate leading out to the sky. "That will get you close to Viridi's temple, but you'll have to finish the journey yourselves."

"We'll be fine," Pit smiled. "Promise."

"I'm sure," she nodded. "Alright, you two. The sooner you go, the sooner you can get back. So, get moving!" Pit grabbed his bow from the side of the gate and the two jumped out into the air.


	2. Chapter II: Mission

After a relatively short flight, the angels arrived at a temple overgrown with vines and nestled in the trees, flowers and roots growing all around inside it. It was a deep red color decorated in gold, and it had an overall peaceful feeling to it.

"About time you showed up," Viridi greeted them as they entered.

"Hey, we didn't have to come," Kuro pointed out, stretching. "So, let's cut to the chase. What is it?"

"Going to be blunt about it, huh?" Viridi inquired, gripping her wooden staff lightly. "Well, you want to know the gist?"

"Yes," Pit sighed.

"Well, fine." She let out a rough breath. "Hades has escaped."

A foreboding silence gripped the air and Pit felt a chill run down his spine.

"What do you mean 'escaped?'" Kuro demanded.

"Hasn't Lady Palutena been watching him?" Pit wondered, confused. "How did he get out? Why didn't she tell us sooner?"

"Here's the thing," Viridi interrupted his barrage of questions. "He hasn't made a single move. No contact with anyone outside the Underworld. And neither Palutena nor I even knew about it. I don't know why, but it's like he was hidden from us." She trailed off, and the angels exchanged a thoughtful look.

"Hidden," Pit repeated. "And the Underworld Army has been quiet. Not a single stirring." He frowned. "How long has he been out?"

"I don't know," Viridi admitted. "I just happened to check on him and found he'd broken free. I'm not sure why or if he had help…"

"But help from who? Most of the Underworld commanders were taken out in the last couple of battles," Kuro pointed out. "Unless he had them down there before we imprisoned him."

"Could be," Viridi nodded. "But that doesn't explain how he masked himself from us. He's been too quiet. I mean, he's Hades."

"Master of satire," Kuro nodded.

"So… what do we do?" Pit wondered. "Head to the Underworld and force him back before he does anything?"

"Except that may be just what he wants," Kuro thought aloud.

"Probably," Viridi agreed, frowning. "No, I have another task for you. Follow me." She walked over to another room in her temple and pointed to a mirror set behind several vines. "See, I had something of a premonition, and Palutena seems to have had the same one. So I doubt it's coincidence."

"And what's that?" Pit asked, staring at the mirror.

"Do you two know ANYthing about the Oracles?" Viridi inquired with her usual sarcastic tone.

"Uh…" Pit thought it over for a moment. "Oracles?"

"Don't think so," Kuro replied. "Care to elaborate?" Viridi rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Long before either of you existed, around the dawn of the humans, there were five spirits that helped govern the ways of the world. They were powerful, but chose to merely watch and do their duty at a minimum, allowing the course of time to go with little influence. But when war began breaking out among both men and gods, the spirits chose to take human form and locked most of their power away, fearing that someone would try to capture them and use their powers to overthrow the Balance.

"These spirit-turned-humans became known as Oracles and hid themselves from the immediate view of the gods, save the ones they served. For example, there are three who answer to me: Onore, the Oracle of Fire, Unda, the Oracle of Water, and Vis, the Oracle of Wind. They draw their power, to some extent, from me."

"Then there's Levica, who serves me," Palutena added from her temple in Skyworld. "She draws her power from me as the Oracle of Light."

"Exactly,"Viridi nodded. "Now, I'm pretty sure Hades is going to be after them for their power and their extremely powerful souls." She shrugged. "In fact, I'm kind of surprised he didn't go after them before."

"Maybe he didn't want to cause that kind of commotion," Pit suggested. "If one of the Oracles went missing, it sounds like you'd know pretty quickly."

"Plus, didn't you say they hid themselves?" Kuro added. "It'd probably be pretty difficult to find them. And Hades seems like he likes to take the easiest course."

"Good points," Viridi went on. "But now that things have changed again, I get the feeling they'll be his primary targets. So," she grinned. "That's where you two angels come in."

"Let me guess," Pit interrupted. "We've gotta go play retrieval and find the Oracles before Hades does."

"Wow, you have gotten smarter!" Viridi congratulated sarcastically. "Think you two can handle that?"

"Piece of cake," Kuro replied.

"Cake?" Pit wondered, then quickly and silently withdrew the question as he thought about it. "Uh, yeah. Leave it to us, Viridi. We'll make sure they're safe."

"But wait," Kuro held his hand up. "Hold on. I think you're leaving something out here. You said there were five spirits that became Oracles. Levica, Unda, Vis, and Onore," he counted on his fingers, "So, who's the fifth one?" Silence again gripped the air for a moment.

"He took the name 'Nemo,'" Viridi replied with a heavy sigh. "He's the Oracle of Darkness." Pit blinked as he slowly began processing just what that meant. "So, if the Oracle of Light serves the goddess of Light and Fire, Water, and Wind, all important parts of nature, serve me as the goddess of Nature…"

"He serves the goddess of Darkness," Pit finished. "In other words, Medusa."

"But Medusa was destroyed by Hades," Kuro pointed out.

"Exactly. And Nemo is the reason the balance between Light and Dark hasn't been completely tipped," Palutena joined them again. "I know he's still alive, but no one really knows what he's been up to since Medusa met her demise."

"So, he could be with us, against us, or neutral," Pit nodded. "We'll have to be careful about approaching him."

"Not to mention he's one of the few beings out there who can travel between the Underworld and the Overworld on his own," Viridi added. "And I don't think it'd be too smart for you to head to the Underworld just yet."

"I agree," Palutena put in. "It's probably best you track down the other Oracles first, then maybe he'd be more willing to listen to us. "

"Sounds like fun," Kuro smirked. "So, I guess we don't really have a choice in this, do we?"

"Not from the sound of it," Pit shrugged. "If we don't find them, then we may have just thrown any chance we have at beating Hades."

"Essentially," Viridi smiled proudly. "So you chickens had better work fast."

"Yeah, yeah," Kuro stared at her. "We'll pull through."

"All right," Pit rubbed his hands together. "Where do we start?"

"I think it'd be best to find Levica first," Palutena replied. "I'm sure Hades would love to find a way to access my power. Plus, she isn't exactly good at defending herself."

"Makes sense," Viridi continued. "I agree. Find Levica first."

"And bring her back to Skyworld so I can keep an eye on her," Palutena added. "While you two are off finding the others."

"We'll make sure she's safe," Pit promised. "You can count on us, Lady Palutena!"

"Still a suck-up, I see," Viridi teased. "Kuro, please promise me you're not that bad."

"I'd probably stab my foot with an arrow if I was," he replied, humor shining in his red eyes.

"Hey, I'm not that bad!" Pit protested.

"ANYway," Viridi interjected, "So, after you get Levica back to Skyworld, I think you should go after Unda and Vis next. Unda is decent enough, but Vis has a bit of an apathetic attitude. You can never really tell what he's thinking."

"And Onore?" Kuro wondered.

"Onore is a little like Nemo, situation-wise," Viridi explained. "Remember Pyrrhon?"

"He's hard to forget," Pit mused, recalling the self-proclaimed "sun god" that had nearly finished him when the strange alien species known as the Aurum had invaded their world. "What about him?"

"Well, though he called himself the god of the sun, he actually was a god of Fire. But between losing his will to the Aurum and being blasted to oblivion along with the rest of those mechanical freaks, his power was sapped and Onore gained some of it due to their connection. So Onore can access more of his own power and even shift into his spirit form for short periods of time if necessary. He can hold his own while we retrieve the others."

"So Nemo has gained power because of Medusa's destruction," Kuro summarized.

"Essentially," both goddesses answered.

"But, as I said before, he hasn't really been doing anything since she was destroyed," Palutena reiterated. "We'll have to hope for the best."

"We'll figure it out," Pit grinned. "But for now, let's find Levica." He turned to his fellow angel. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be," Kuro replied.

"Viridi," Palutena beckoned. "Will you allow me to direct your gate? I'm pretty sure I know where she is, and I can get them pretty close."

"Fine," Viridi through her hands up. "But just this once! Don't just go messing with my gate whenever you feel like it!"

"I'll keep that in mind," Palutena laughed as a light shined from the gate on the other side of the room, and the doors slowly opened. "You'll find Levica hiding in the temple in the town I'm sending you to," she added. "Don't worry. You'll be fine."

"Let's just try to make as much progress as possible before the Underworld starts acting up," Kuro grumbled as he headed for the gate with Pit following close behind.


	3. Chapter III: A Bright Light

Pit took a deep breath as he soared alongside Kuro toward their destination. He looked down and found several small birds flying beneath them and couldn't help but smile. And, despite himself, he started laughing as the wind whipped around him and the scent of grass reached his nose.

"What's so funny?" Kuro wondered casually as the town came into view on the horizon.

"Haha…" Pit grinned as he tried to collect himself. "It's just… it's been a while, you know? Usually, if we came down to the surface, it was just to go to Viridi's temple. In fact… I don't think we've been down here anywhere else since that fight with Thanatos." Kuro nodded, obviously remembering their skirmish with the god of Death five years previous. "It's just… nice to see things, right?"

"I guess," Kuro shrugged. "You've got more of an attachment to the humans than I do. Always have."

"But that doesn't mean you don't care about them, right?" Kuro's lack of a reply took something of a stab at Pit's good mood. "Oh, come on. Not even a little?"

"I care about not letting them get destroyed and used by the Underworld for any of its schemes," Kuro finally answered. "But that's more of a Balance thing. If they'd stop destroying themselves for such stupid reasons, then maybe I'd care more."

"But they haven't started any full scale wars since the thing with the Wish Seed," Pit pointed out. "I mean, most of the fighting has been amongst the gods. And space invaders." Kuro smirked and rolled his eyes.

"True. But what does it matter? If we stop Hades before he has a chance to strike, then we'll be fine, right?"

"Hopefully," Pit agreed, then looked down as they approached the town. "Okay, so… hrm."

"Wondering how we go about getting to the temple?" Kuro guessed.

"Yeah," Pit nodded. "Option one is that we land and head in by foot. We don't want to panic the humans, so it's probably best as few of them as possible actually see us. So option two is that we just fly over, but if anyone looks up…"

"It'll spread like wildfire," Kuro finished.

"Man, you two have the same brain waves, don't you?" Viridi inquired, her voice echoing around in Pit's head.

"It's more of a sense that they can tell what the other is thinking," Palutena laughed. "Or at least Kuro can."

"What do you mean by that?" Pit wondered, an underlying defensive tone hiding behind his confusion.

"No offense, Pit," the goddess of Light continued, "but Kuro seems a little more capable of… seeing more than just what's on the surface? I think that's a good way of putting it. He can pick things apart in a way that you… kind of lack."

"But I… ugh…" Pit sighed. "Okay, so I'm not the smartest guy around, but I… uh…"

"Trying to think of something you're better than me at?" Kuro laughed. "Good luck."

"I can think of something immediately," Palutena offered.

"What's that?" both angels wondered.

"You have a stronger heart, Pit. You're better at dealing with emotions and you care about all living things. And also, you can work around your emotions when you need to instead of letting them get in the way." Pit smiled sheepishly.

"So, when you two work together, you've got all sides covered," Viridi noted. "Huh."

"I guess," Pit replied.

"I suppose it's true," Kuro agreed somewhat flatly. "I guess I don't see the point in getting so attached to everything. Especially the humans when they're doing something stupid- which is pretty often."

"But perhaps care for them will eventually steer them in the right direction," Palutena suggested. "But that's not our main task right now. However you two decide to go about getting to the temple, make it quick before Hades can catch on."

"Roger," Pit acknowledged. "Okay, so I'm guessing that really big building on the north side of the town is the temple? Where that big clearing is?"

"Very good, Pit," Palutena laughed.

"Maybe if we land at the very northern part of it, we can take the back alleys and avoid the main roads until we reach the clearing. From there, we'll just have to hope for the best," Kuro suggested.

"Works for me," Pit agreed. "Let's go." The angelic duo circled around the town before dropping in altitude and landing among the buildings. Pit turned to his companion and tilted his head. "Ready to go?"

"Always," Kuro nodded, his eyes bright. "Let's hurry before someone finds us." They took off south down an alley and it wasn't long before they came to a main road. Pit came to a screeching halt, and Kuro nearly ran into him. "Pit, jeez! Mind giving me a little warning if you're just going to stop like that?"

"Sorry," Pit replied quickly as he stepped back. "Okay, we probably shouldn't head down there." He scanned the alley and found another passage branching off to another route. "Okay, there. Let's see if that'll take us anywhere." They headed down the next street and continued on with little issue until they reached another larger path. Pit ducked into a doorway and pulled Kuro in with him as what seemed to be a human family, two adults and a child, passed by. The child, a little boy, stopped and Pit held his breath as the boy bent down and picked something up off the ground.

"Momma, Poppa, look at this!" Pit peered out and found that the boy was holding a pure white feather.

"Very nice, son," the father patted the boy's head. "Some bird overhead must have dropped it." They continued on down the path and out of the angels' sight, and the companions emerged from their hiding place.

"You could have been a little nicer about that," Kuro complained as he rotated his shoulder.

"Huh," Pit glanced over his shoulder at his wing. "I really need to figure this molting issue out. Lady Palutena?"

"Yes, Pit?" the goddess wondered.

"Is this a problem? Or is it just normal for my wings to lose feathers like this?" He looked back to Kuro. "It happens to you too, right?" Kuro nodded.

"Don't worry about it too much," Palutena replied. "Just focus on finding Levica. We can talk more about that later."

"A-Alright," Pit agreed hesitantly, and the two made their way through the alley until they reached another street. Kuro peered around the corner, then looked back at Pit.

"It's clear," he announced. "And it looks like a straight shot down to the temple's clearing."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Pit followed him around the corner and they hurried down the street until they reached the clearing. Unlike the stone paths they'd been going down previously, the clearing featured several pathways winding around rich grass and small ponds. Small trees grew around the perimeter, and the temple itself stood tall in the center.

"To think that those stupid humans use elements of Nature to praise the goddess of Light," Viridi scoffed. "Do they not understand ANYthing?"

"I don't think most of them really know exactly which god is which," Kuro pointed out. "They just use what they think is good for whichever they think is watching out for them: ergo, the goddess of Light- Lady Palutena."

"Whatever," Viridi mumbled. "Just go find Levica."

"On it," Pit promised. "Okay, let's head to the back wall of the temple, then we can keep to it and turn the corner from there. That should cut down on the likelihood of people seeing us."

"Sounds good," Kuro agreed as they took off toward the wall and reached it quickly. "Okay, let's go." Pit nodded and they continued on along the edge of the wall.

"It's kind of nice being able to walk down here without having to dodge enemy fire," Pit grinned. "What do you think?"

"It's okay, I guess," Kuro shrugged. "I mean, yeah. The peace is nice."

"You're so thick," Pit teased as they continued on. "Come on! Learn how to have fun in a way that doesn't require us fighting. There's got to be something simple you enjoy."

"Hey, I like a good soak in the Hot Spring just as much as you do," the black-haired angel pointed out with an amused smile.

"True enough," Pit's grin grew. "Fine, whatever. But loosen up. Seriously. You're always so- oof!" As he turned the corner, he ran straight into a human coming from the opposite direction and stared, wide-eyed, as she fell over. "I am so sorry!" he held out his hand. "Please, excuse me," he bit his lip as she took his hand and he helped her to her feet. "My bad…"

"N-no, it's okay," she replied, placing one hand gently on her slightly bulging stomach and brushing a lock of her dark blond hair behind her ear. As she looked up, her gaze shifted from surprised to what seemed to be excitement and elation. "Why… you can't be…" her smile grew. "Pit?" Pit blinked as her voice played around at his memory. "Oh, come on, angel boy. You can't tell me you don't remember me!" He shook his head as he came to a conclusion.

"G-Gaol?" he could barely believe it, that this slender young woman could possibly be the supposed "dark lord" he had fought back when Medusa had been resurrected. He'd heard her true voice only once, back when Dyntos had made him fight her and a swordsman named Magnus while trying to gain a weapon strong enough to fight Hades for the first time. But everything about this woman in front of him now fit both that voice and the one split second he had seen her face without the cursed armor that had sapped her will before. She smiled.

"I knew you'd figure it out," she replied. "Look at you! You've matured into quite a handsome angel." He felt his face heat a bit as she glanced behind him. "And… look at you. Black hair and red eyes… but you both have the same face."

"My name's Kuro," he held out his hand and she shook it lightly.

"He's my brother," Pit explained, and Gaol nodded.

"The resemblance between you two is striking," she agreed. "Anyway," she smiled. "What brings you here? Is everything okay?"

"Fine," Pit nodded. "Yeah. We're just looking for someone. Uh, how are you?"

"I'm wonderful, thanks to you and Magnus," she dipped her head. "Thank you, Pit. You've done so much for me and for everyone."

"I'm just doing my job," he scratched the back of his head. "Anyway, uh… so, how are things? Okay?"

"Better than okay," her smile grew as she rested both of her hands around her waist, a ring sparkling in the sunlight on her left.

"Pardon me for asking," Kuro spoke up, "But… Gaol, is it?" she nodded. "Are you… expecting?"

"Aye," she replied. "I know it will still be a while before the birth, but… I've never felt the joy that having a family has given me."

"You deserve it," Pit told her optimistically. "Anyway, I'm sorry to cut this short, but we need to get back to our mission."

"I understand," she nodded. "I hope I'll see you again, Pit. And Kuro, it was nice meeting you. Good luck."

"Thanks," both angels said as they continued on along the wall and reached the entrance of the temple.

"It's nice knowing she's doing okay," Pit thought aloud as they entered.

"Yes, I hope that was a pleasant surprise for you," Palutena laughed. "But anyway, you've just about reached Levica. So hop to it."

"Understood," the blue-eyed angel replied as he looked around the temple. It was a large marble structure lit by large windows and a skylight overhead, and there were candles burning along the perimeter. A blue carpet of sorts led from the entrance down to an altar where a man in priest's robes stood reading a scroll. He looked up at the sound of the angels' footsteps and his eyes widened in shock before he knelt down quickly and bowed his head.

"M-Masterful angels," he stuttered. "T-to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

"Uh…" Pit exchanged a bewildered glance with Kuro before looking back at the priest. "Yeah. I'm Pit, and this is my brother Kuro. You can stand, if you want… We're looking for someone named Levica." The priest looked up and got to his feet.

"I see…" he nodded. "She said this day would come, but… I didn't think I'd live to see it. Please, sirs, come with me." Pit hurried over to him with Kuro on his heels and they followed to a door in the back of the temple. "I am forbidden to enter unless under the terms of an absolute emergency, but please. Go ahead."

"Thanks," Pit nodded and proceeded inside. He shook his head and blinked, trying to chase away the thought that they'd entered another world, as he scanned the room. It was washed white with yellow, blue, and green drapes decorating the walls, and a statue of Palutena stood proudly in a spot opposite the door.

"You must be Lady Palutena's messengers," a chiming voice greeted. "Commander Pit and Captain Kuro, correct?" The angels looked over to find what appeared to be a young woman garbed in a white dress tied at the waist by a warm brown strap and another strap slung over her shoulder and around her side. On this was an insignia bearing a strong resemblance to that of Palutena. Her long blond hair was tied back and reached to just above her knees, and her green eyes, resembling Palutena's themselves, sparkled mysteriously.

"T-that's right," Pit replied, feeling his face flush for reasons he wasn't sure of. "So you must be-"

"Levica, the Oracle of Light," she nodded. "Lady Palutena tells me that I am to return to Skyworld with you, that Lord Hades has escaped his prison. Is that right?"

"Yeah," Kuro nodded. "Apparently, things would be… bad… if he got to you."

"I understand," Levica replied. "Thank you for coming, both of you. And Kuro…" she smiled. "I must thank you for fighting for Lady Palutena."

"W-what do you mean?" he demanded, and Pit stared at the Oracle curiously.

"Don't think I don't know about you," she replied. "The nature of your birth, and everything you've gone through since then. It's awe-inspiring that you've crafted such a life for yourself." She bowed her head to him. "You have my respect, Captain. And you as well, Commander. Thank you for all you've done for Lady Palutena."

"It's my job…" Pit mumbled. "Uh, anyway. We should probably get moving before Hades decides to make a move."

"Right," Levica nodded. "Very well."

"Pit, Kuro," Palutena spoke up. "Just keep her safe, okay? She and I will handle the rest."

"Roger," Pit confirmed. "We'll do what we can."

Levica closed her eyes and folded her hands over her chest, and a light illuminated from her that suddenly overtook her body.

"Let's go," her voice echoed around Pit's head. "I can't maintain this form for very long, and it's likely caught Lord Hades's attention."

"Right," the angels both nodded as Palutena's light appeared around them and they were pulled back to the sky.

To Pit's surprise, they reached Palutena's temple without any problems and, once there, Levica reverted to her human form. She bowed to the goddess of Light along with the angels as Palutena approached them.

"Long time, no see, Levica," Palutena greeted. "Pit, Kuro, thank you for retrieving her. And I know you're probably tired, but Viridi and I need you to find the rest of the Oracles as soon as possible." She paused. "Do you think you can go ahead out again?"

"Not a problem," Pit promised. "Right, Kuro?"

"Even if I said no, I can't just sit around while you hog all the fun," the red-eyed angel teased. "So let's get this over with."

"I'm glad your new angel has been so successful," Levica told the goddess. "Strong, quick, kind, and surprisingly handsome to boot." Pit felt his face heat again.

"What do you mean?" he wondered meekly. Both Oracle and goddess merely smiled at him.

"Never you mind, Pit. Just focus on finding the others for now."

"Uh, alright," Pit sighed. "We'll be back, Lady Palutena." He dipped his head as she pointed her staff at the gate once more and it opened slowly. The blue-eyed angel exchanged something of an exasperated glance with his twin before as both leapt out into the air and spread their wings.


	4. Chapter IV: Angels

"Just go!" was the greeting the angels got as soon as they landed in Viridi's temple. Pit stared at the goddess of Nature, trying to suppress an annoyed reply.

"And just where are we going?" Kuro inquired, his arms crossed as he gripped his bow loosely in one hand.

"You're going after either Vis or Unda," Viridi replied.

"Or both," Pit suggested, gaining a curious look from both his fellow angel and the goddess. "I mean, why waste time? Kuro and I can handle ourselves. So I'll find Unda, and you can find Vis."

"That makes sense," Kuro nodded. "Alright. So, where are we going?" Viridi closed her eyes for a time and took a deep breath.

"Unda took shelter in a cavern near one of the great springs. It's out in the middle of a forest. As for Vis… he's in the mountains." She opened her eyes and smiled teasingly. "Kuro, you'd better be glad you can fly. It's hard to get around up there on foot." The black-haired angel nodded. "Okay. Pit, I'll send you out first, then you, Kuro. Ready?"

"Of course," Pit replied with a smile. "I bet I can find Unda faster than you can find Vis," he challenged.

"You're on," Kuro replied, shoving him playfully, and Pit laughed as he approached the gate. "See you when you get back."

"On it," Pit grinned as the gate opened, and he leapt out with his wings spread wide into the air.

"This is the first mission you've taken alone since your trip to the City of Souls, isn't it?" Palutena wondered from Skyworld.

"I haven't had that many missions since then," he replied. "But yeah, I think you're right, Lady Palutena. Well, I don't have to worry about him holding me back!" The goddess laughed as he scanned his surroundings, but there wasn't much to find. The skies were clear and the earth below was essentially fields dotted with trees with several streams cutting across the landscape. To the north, he saw mountains that reached up and clawed at the sky- green with foliage toward the bottom but becoming barren, and even snow-covered, near their peaks.

"Is that where he's going?" the angel wondered as he scanned the peaks. "Kuro, I mean. Is that where Vis is?"

"Those mountains? Yes, as far as I know of," Palutena confirmed. "But focus, Pit. You have your mission and he has his."

"I know that," Pit replied. "I was just wondering. So, anyway, where exactly am I going?"

"Viridi says that Unda has made her home within the heart of that forest, within a cavern that's home to an underground spring she crafted many years ago- long before you ever came into existence."

"Huh," Pit nodded. "Exactly how old are the Oracles?"

"Almost as old as our world itself," Palutena answered. "Well, their spirit forms, anyway. In human form, they're all several centuries old. Remember, they took those forms shortly after the dawn of the humans, and they were the last- no, second to last creatures to come to be as the closest to the gods. You could say everything else was… trial and error."

"Okay then…" Pit chuckled. "Wait… second-to-last? Then what was the last?" There was a pause, and he began his descent as he drew nearer to the forest.

"Angels," the goddess finally replied, and Pit remained silent for a while.

"Any particular reason why?" he wondered.

"Because… well…" Palutena sighed. "I wasn't planning on telling you this, at least not for a while, but I suppose it can't be avoided. You'll never let it go."

"Probably not," Pit agreed sheepishly.

"I'll try to keep this short, since you are on a mission, and we never know when Hades may finally make a move. Anyway…" she took a deep breath. "Pit, do you know why you don't see any other angels like yourself? Other than Kuro, I mean."

"No," he answered. "I guess I never really thought about it."

"The inhabitants of Skyworld are usually crafted as Centurions," she began. "As you know, most of them become part of the army while the remaining population merely live in Skyworld, serving me in other ways and protecting the home front, if you will." Pit nodded. "But you… obviously, you don't fall in that category. You are a pure, flesh and blood, full-formed angel." She paused again, likely gathering her thoughts. "You were always meant to be an angel, Pit. That is the reason you came into existence- to become a guardian of Skyworld and to personally serve its leaders- well, leader. Me.

"The angel is something of a champion: we've always known that the Centurions can't really amount to much, but the angel is… well… blessed during its creation with strong combat prowess along with a strong heart and will, but a balanced mind to know right from wrong and when that prowess should be kept back. For you, your prowess showed through your skill with a bow, even from a young age, and has evolved with time as you've mastered the other types of weapons as well." She stopped as he tried to let her words sink in.

"But… I've only been around since shortly before Medusa attacked," he pointed out. "So… what happened before that?"

"You know that Medusa used to be one of Skyworld's rulers as the goddess of Darkness, right?"

"Yeah."

"Well, there was, as you may have guessed, an angel before you, and she served both of us. Her prowess actually manifested itself more in a mental way- though she was capable of combat and had an impressive aim, she had a way of… persuading her opponents. She could often turn them to another target or just confuse them long enough to break through. And if that didn't work, she just picked apart their strategies and fighting styles and used their own strengths and weaknesses against them.

"Anyway… It was back when I transformed Medusa and banished her from the heavens. As you can probably imagine, she didn't go without a fight. Our angel sided with me and fought against her, but…" she trailed off. "Medusa knew that if she was to go down, she was bringing the angel who betrayed her down as well. The goddess of Darkness outwitted her- a hard thing to do- and dragged her down into the Underworld. She didn't survive long down there, especially after Medusa gained power. And I have a feeling now that Hades didn't appreciate her company either."

"And then I came around," Pit finished. "And from there… well, here we are."

"Yes," Palutena agreed. "I wonder if her defeat was part of the reason Medusa underestimated you- you were so young, and she had defeated a fully grown angel with relative ease. But you're another force entirely, Pit. I've never had an angel like you, one who is so strong, quick, cunning, and smart- when he tries, anyway."

"Th-thank you, Lady Palutena," Pit stammered with a flushed face. "It's all because of you. I'll always fight for you."

"I don't doubt that," she told him. "I don't know what I'd do without you. With the way the Underworld Army is these days, the Centurions don't stand a chance!"

"Well, I can take down a squadron of them with one hand tied behind my back," Pit laughed. "So don't worry too much, Lady Palutena. I'm not going anywhere."

"Yes…" she said, though her voice sounded distracted. "I wonder… if something, heaven forbid, did happen to you… would the cycle consider Kuro? Say something did happen, but he remained. Would another angel still come to be?"

"I don't think you need to think too hard about that, Lady Palutena," Pit replied. "After all, you know how it is with us. You can't take one down without taking the other too. We're just really hard to kill that way," he grinned. "So, unless something even more crazy than everything else we've already seen happens, it's probably always going to be like that. If something does happen to me, then it means he's out of the picture too."

"And getting rid of two angels sounds just about impossible," Palutena laughed. "Good point, Pit. Thank you."

"Not a problem," he replied. "And thanks for telling me all that. It makes a lot of sense, and it's kind of nice to know why there's just me. Well, me and Kuro, whether he counts or not."

"Regardless," Palutena went on, "You should probably shift your focus back to the mission. You're almost there, right?"

"Yep, I'm about to land," he confirmed. "Land, find Unda, get her back to Viridi, then go home and have a piece of celebratory pie."

"Is there EVER a time you're not thinking about food?"

"What? I'm hungry. I haven't eaten since before we left to talk to Viridi about this mess in the first place."

"All right," Palutena teased. "I'll have something waiting for you when you get back. Nice and warm."

"Thank you very much," he smiled. "Anyway, I can't see anything through the leaves. I'll have to search from here on foot."

"Good luck," she bade, and he broke through the canopy created by the branches of the countless trees below.

"Oof, ow!" he complained as the twigs and bark scratched up his arms, and he landed with a thud. "Okay… I didn't really think that one through."

"Couldn't you have just looked for a break in the branches?" Palutena suggested.

"I… didn't think of that."

"I can tell. Anyway, if you're okay, then get moving. The less time you waste, the better."

"Yeah, yeah…" he sighed and, bow gripped loosely in his hand, started off in the direction of the center of the woods. "Okay, you said that Unda made her home in a cavern, and that cavern is the source of a spring, right?"

"Correct," Palutena confirmed.

"So, I should just look for water and see where it comes from."

"Very perceptive, Pit. And good idea. That's the best lead we have right now." With that, the angel set a decent pace and strained his ears for the sound of flowing water, but couldn't pick up anything over the chattering creatures and the wind rushing through the leaves. He sighed and kept going, weaving around the vegetation in an attempt not to step on anything.

"Why do I get the feeling that Viridi will kill me if I step on a mushroom? Or a bug? Or… anything, really…?"

"She's a little… temperamental, and the humans have put her on the defensive- hence her reset bombs. But I think she'll forgive you as long as you don't damage anything too badly. Now, if the Underworld army showed up, that may change things."

"Then I have another reason to hope they stay away," he grumbled. "Alright." He continued on, dodging around all sorts of plants and small creatures, until he finally came across a stream. "Score!" And with that, and a refreshed morale, he set off at a decent run against its flow.

A short time later, a heavily panting Pit came across the cavern and slowed down, hunched over with his hand braced against his knee as he caught his breath.

"Whoo… " after a moment, he straightened up and stretched. "Okay, this has to be it." The sound of running water echoed from within the rock face, and he took a deep breath as he entered. From within the water, there came a gentle glow that lit the cave just enough for him to see where he was going. He stopped and stared at its surface for a moment, a chill going down his spine, as it ceased its flow.

Moments later, the water suddenly burst up and enveloped him, causing a scream of shock and terror to escape his throat.

"L-Lady Palutena!" he called out. "What's going on?" The water pulled him down toward its former surface, but suddenly stopped with his face inches from submerging.

"Don't move," a voice threatened from somewhere in the cave. "If you do, I'll drown you. Who are you and what do you want?"

"I-I'm Pit, servant of the goddess of Light," he gasped. "Viridi sent me. I've come looking for… wait. You, I think. Are you Unda?" There was silence as he struggled to keep his head above the water, but a moment later he was suddenly thrown up back to the stone floor.

"My apologies, Master Pit," the voice replied as he sputtered, shaking out his wings. From deeper within the cavern, a young woman appeared, her blue eyes reflecting like the water he'd just burst out of. She wore a pale blue robe belted at the waist in a way similar to Levica, and the insignia at her collar bone resembled a wave. Her dark, pale blue hair fell to her waist. "I am Unda, the Oracle of Water. What can I do for you?"

"Has Viridi contacted you?" he wondered as he got to his feet.

"Yes," she nodded. "So, you're here to escort be back to Mistress Viridi's temple, correct?" Pit dipped his head. "Very well." She smiled. "And please, Master Pit. Forgive me for my first impression. My emotions are a little… unpredictable."

"No… problem…?" he blinked. "Uh, anyway. Let's go."

"Oh, good," Viridi spoke up. "I'm glad you didn't kill him, Unda. Come on, Pit. Let's go." Unda transformed herself into a spirit-like form, just as Levica did, and Pit spread his wings as a light illuminated the cavern.

"Welcome back," Viridi greeted. "I'm glad you're okay, Unda," she went on as the Oracle kneeled.

"Aye, Mistress Viridi. Thank you for your concern. If there's anything I can assist with in the fight for restoring the Balance, please let me know."

"Yeah…" Pit scratched his head and looked around. "Is Kuro not back yet?" Viridi's sudden shift in expression told him everything.

"I lost sight of him shortly after he got to the mountains," she informed him. "And I haven't heard from him since then. Neither has Palutena." Pit swallowed and remained silent for a moment before he hurried over to the gate.

"I have to go find him!"

"You're not going anywhere, especially not alone!" Viridi retorted. "No way. Just… wait. Maybe he'll turn up." Pit stared at her, then sighed in defeat.

"Fine…" he mumbled.

"Come on, Pit," Palutena beckoned. "Come back to Skyworld. We'll go from there." He nodded slowly, his eyes blank and fear growing in him, as her retrieving light enveloped him.


	5. Chapter V: Deceit

Pit took a deep breath and sighed as he sat on the edge of the islet up in Skyworld, overlooking the clouds and the surface so far below. Throughout the rest of the previous day when he'd found Unda, that evening, the former night, and early that morning, there had been no sign nor word from Kuro, and the blue-eyed angel felt sick with worry. He knew if something really had happened to his twin, he'd sense it. But no matter how hard he tried, he could find nothing- the self-proclaimed angel of darkness had disappeared without a trace.

"Pit," he looked up and turned his head to find Palutena standing behind him, and he quickly scrambled to his feet and kneeled. "I know you're worried, but you need to get back to finding the other Oracles." She paused. "Perhaps going to track down Vis would be a good way to start- maybe you'll find some lead as to where he disappeared to and why." Pit nodded briskly and stood up.

"I will," he vowed. "I'll find him, Lady Palutena. He's… I'm pretty sure he's alive. I just don't know where he is. But you're probably right."

"Head back to my temple," she instructed. "You should be able to just use my Gate to get to the mountains, now that I know where they are. Viridi can direct you from there."

"For the most part," Viridi joined the conversation. "Vis hid himself extraordinarily well. Even I'm having trouble pinpointing his exact location. I don't know if he's just paranoid, or…" she trailed off.

"Or what?" the angel wondered.

"That's the thing," Viridi sighed. "I don't know. I mean, I'm assuming that's it- he's just hiding. Even Palutena has a general idea as to where the Oracles are. But only their specific ruling gods can find them specifically if they don't want to be found by anyone else. They're that powerful."

"That explains why Hades would want them so badly," Pit agreed. "Alright. I just hope everything's connected."

"I do too, Pit," Palutena told him gently. "I know this must be hard for you. But we just have to keep faith in him that he's safe. Anyway…" she smiled. "Get moving. The sooner you leave, the sooner you'll find something- whatever it is. I'll meet you at the temple."

"Understood." With that word, Pit spread his wings and took to the air in the direction of the temple. But even the pure miracle of flight couldn't overcome his worry, and he grit his teeth as he tried to shake off the many foreboding possibilities from his thoughts.

A short time later, he arrived at the temple and quickly made his way into the main chamber that served as the home of Palutena's Gate. True to her word, the goddess of Light was already there, and Levica stood nearby with an unreadable expression in her soft eyes, clearly deep in thought.

"There you are," Palutena greeted.

"Come on," Pit protested. "I didn't take that long, did I?" She laughed.

"That doesn't really matter now." She pointed her staff at the Gate, and it slowly opened. Pit turned to Levica, frowning.

"Are you okay?" he wondered. She looked up at his beckoning, her eyes refocusing.

"I'm fine," she replied. "I'm just trying to see if I can find Nemo. Without the goddess of Darkness, he's essentially hidden from us all. Since he's my opposite force, I'm trying to scan for him." She let out a heavy sigh. "But, so far, I can't find any sign of him." She shook her head. "Don't mind me, Commander. Please, just find Vis and Onore. I'll keep looking."

"Don't strain yourself too much," he cautioned as he turned to the Gate, then took off running and grabbed his bow as he passed before jumping out into the air. Almost immediately, he saw the mountains in the distance and picked up his pace as best he could.

"So, what exactly am I looking for?" he wondered. "I mean, where is this Vis?"

"He's probably around one of the peaks," Viridi replied. "Somewhere he can really sense the currents in the air. Plus, humans would be hard pressed to get up there."

"Then I'm REALLY glad I can fly," Pit mumbled.

"Now, Pit…" Palutena teased.

"I know, I know. Angels shouldn't gloat."

"Right." She laughed, and Pit shook his head with a weak smile on his face. He continued on, flapping his wings a bit to gain altitude, and scanned his surroundings- sky, mountain, field, and forest- for any sign of either the Oracle or Kuro, but he found nothing. He sighed and dropped the façade of the smile, his face becoming dull with his worry.

"Pit!" Palutena called out.

"Something's coming up below you!" Viridi warned within moments of the other goddess's call.

"Huh?" Pit looked down, only to take a direct hit from some sort of Palm weapon that knocked his breath away and momentarily stunned his wings. Once he recovered, he quickly stabilized himself and scanned around wildly for his adversary.

What he found, however, shocked him.

"Kuro!" he cried out, relief flooding over him as he found the red-eyed, black-haired, and white-winged angel hovering a short distance away from him. His relief immediately melted back into concern as he further examined his twin: His red eyes were dark and unreadable, and the shot of a Palm had come from his new weapon: one that Pit didn't recognize.

It was simple in design- merely several streams of a pale blue light revolving around his arm, its hue becoming more intense around his hand. Pit stared at it curiously, an ominous chill running through his body at the sight of it.

"Kuro?" Both goddesses wondered. There was no mistaking it: this was indeed the angel that had come to be known as Kuro, the same angel that had come into being as Pit's doppelganger and his reflection from the Mirror of Truth.

"Yes, Kuro," the red-eyed angel replied flatly, further confirming that he was the real thing. Unfortunately, he said nothing else as Pit watched him.

"Where… did you go?" the brown-haired angel asked carefully. Kuro didn't reply, but returned his gaze with his eyes betraying no emotion. "Kuro… what happened?"

"Let's say I met someone who cleared a few things up for me," Kuro replied mysteriously. "And now I know that Palutena can't win this."

"Kuro!" Pit practically barked. "You're… no. Something's wrong with you. Hades!" he called out. "What have you done to my brother?" To his annoyance, there was no answer.

"Nothing," Kuro replied. "I chose this, Pit. You're just going to have to deal with it." With that, he lunged forward through the air with his Palm at the ready, but Pit dodged out of the way of its shot and it barely missed his foot. Grief crashed down on him as he tried to find some sign of deceit or lies in Kuro's eyes, but he could find nothing.

"Fine…" the blue-eyed angel mumbled. "If… if that's how it really is…" he looked up, blinking back the hot water stinging his eyes. "If you want a fight, Kuro, I'll give you a fight!" He pulled his bow apart into two short swords and dove down toward the other angel, who jerked out of the way at the last moment and Pit took another direct hit from his Palm.

"Oof…" he shook his head as he fought against the pain and turned back to Kuro, shocked by the hostility burning in his hot crimson eyes. "What is with you?" he demanded, but the black-haired angel didn't reply. Instead, he focused and fired a charged shot from his Palm that again caught Pit off guard, and its impact stunned him. In a flash, Kuro came straight toward him and stopped suddenly with his face hovering inches from Pit's ear.

"Trust me," he whispered, and Pit didn't have time to process his confusion before a searing pain suddenly pierced through his chest. He was vaguely aware of some sort of odd light before his consciousness slipped into utter blackness.


	6. Chapter VI: Defeat

Darkness. Nothingness. A swirl of strange visions that made no sense. Pain. Two different young men. A third. Hades. The City of Souls. So much pain. Suffering. Confusion. Grief. Hate.

Then, suddenly…

"Pit!"

With a groan, Pit groggily opened his eyes and found himself somewhere deep within Palutena's temple. He blinked as his eyes focused on the ceiling above him, felt some sort of cushioning fabric under him with his wings folded gently at his sides so they wouldn't be damaged. He tried making sense of the fog in his mind, how he'd gotten there. The last thing he could recall was finding Kuro, only to be attacked without warning. Then… nothing. Or was there something? He couldn't be sure.

After a moment of trying to collect himself to something of a coherent state of mind, he sat up and massaged his forehead, stretching out his stiff wings. His muscles felt like lead, and he swallowed as he again tried to make sense of everything, confused by the unusually stale air around him. Finally, he got around to scanning the chamber, and his gaze quickly came to rest on a black-haired, red-eyed angel that bore a striking resemblance to him.

As if a gate somewhere in him had suddenly opened, a rush of adrenaline overtook him and he bolted up, a fiery rage erupting in his heart as he glared at the angel.

"Look," Kuro held up his hands, showing he was unarmed. "I know you probably hate me right now. But you have to understand, Pit. I did what I had to do to keep you safe. You wouldn't have survived if-"

"If what?" Pit demanded, stepping back as he tried to find his bow. With a sigh, Kuro walked over to the wall and grabbed it, then tossed it over in Pit's direction.

"If Hades had gotten to your soul before I did," the black-haired angel finished bluntly, silencing a confused Pit as he recovered the bow. "I wouldn't be surprised if you don't believe me, but I never had any intention of betraying Lady Palutena, and attacking you… it hurt a lot. Not to mention keeping your soul hidden- THAT was hard." He sighed. "Look… if you can walk, there's something you need to see." Pit stared at him, and, after a moment of hesitation, nodded. "Alright. Come on." He turned and headed for the door, and Pit followed as he found Kuro had stashed his own bow, the same given to him by Palutena five years previous, next to the exit. He made no move to retrieve it, but left without a second thought.

"Kuro," Pit began carefully. "What's going on? How do you know about Hades? What happened?"

"I… When I got to the mountains while I was looking for Vis, I found someone else waiting for me."

"Who?"

"Nemo," Kuro let out a heavy sigh. "The Oracle of Darkness." Pit blinked.

"Wait. Why? What was he doing there?"

"He came up to me and immediately called me something I haven't heard in years." Kuro smirked darkly. "You'd be amazed at how insulted I felt when he called me 'Dark Pit.'"

"How did he know?" Pit wondered.

"He is the Oracle of Darkness," Kuro pointed out. "That, combined with my… looks, if you will, probably made it pretty obvious. Anyway. He came to me and told me I had chosen a path of destruction by following Lady Palutena. Of course, I didn't want to listen, but he wouldn't give up. Told me that he knew he would have no chance persuading you, but he figured he'd at least try for me. He told me he was serving Hades- that both surprised me and didn't at the same time. But he offered me that, in exchange for my loyalty to Hades, that I'd be spared from… destruction.

"I was skeptical about it, of course, but I knew I'd be able to handle most of what Hades could throw at me by myself. And, if it came down to it, I can fly. I would have been able to get away if possible. So, I lied and told him I'd join them, and I returned to the Underworld with him. Hades gave me a long, overdone speech about how happy he was that I'd seen the truth and said that he had a test for me. Before I left to pass that test, however, Nemo came to me again and told me that Hades was… well, you'll see."

"The test was defeating me, wasn't it?" Pit guessed. Kuro nodded.

"At the bare minimum, yes, that's what it was. But more specifically, he wanted me to… well, retrieve your soul- that way, one: Lady Palutena wouldn't be able to revive you, and two: he would have it delivered personally to him and use it in whatever way he wished. So, he gave me a Palm of sorts that would, with the right strike, steal your soul. But on my way back to him, I… I guess you could say I absorbed it." He stopped walking for a moment. "For a time, Pit, your soul was whole for the first time since I came into existence. It hurt, felt like I was going to explode. There was a tightness in my chest the entire time, like it's almost impossible for one being to contain it." He sighed. "I'm glad it was only temporary.

"Anyway. On my way back to the City of Souls, where Hades had taken up residence, I detoured a bit and picked up some soul from the stream there to present to him. He knew I'd gotten a hold of yours, and he wasn't planning on doing anything with it for the time with the worry that it would affect me- scratch that. It WOULD affect me. As long as we're connected like that, he couldn't do anything without something happening to me too. So, he just sort of played with the soul I gave him for a while.

"Then…" again, he stopped walking. "What Nemo told me Hades was going to do… he did it."

"What did he do?" Pit inquired, dread growing within him.

"Come on," Kuro waved for him to follow as they made their way down the main corridor of the temple, and a moment later, they came to the main entrance. "Just… It's bad, Pit. I can't tell you otherwise. Be prepared for the worst." Pit glanced at him curiously as he opened the door and stepped outside.

Immediately, he felt shock twisted with agony crash down on him as he fell to his knees. Skyworld had become a dull cluster of rocks and the clouds around it, with a pale gray, nearly red sky, were dark and foreboding. Among the rock islets, he could see the motionless bodies of Centurions scattered around, like they simply dropped where they were.

"Do you see why I said I had to get to your soul before Hades did?" Kuro asked gently, and, unable to speak, Pit nodded slowly. "Everything is like this, Pit. Not only Skyworld, but the surface as well. The humans… well, not just the humans. Just about every living thing down there and up here has been wiped out, their souls stolen in one massive attack that Hades had been preparing since Nemo freed him. I'm still not entirely sure how long ago that was." Pit nodded, then, as a thought crossed his mind, he jumped to his feet in panic.

"Where's Lady Palutena?" he demanded, turning back toward the temple.

"Hear me out before you kill me," Kuro requested. "Short story: She's in the Chaos Vortex."

"WHY?"

"Long story," Kuro continued, again holding up his hands. "I managed to get away from Hades for a time and came back up to Skyworld to warn her. She wasn't too happy to see me, as you can probably imagine. But after I explained the situation and told her what Hades was planning, she seemed to believe me. Hades was going to concentrate part of his attack on making sure he got to her, unlike some of the other gods and the like. Viridi is still around, I think, Phosphora, and I'm pretty sure he missed Dyntos. Anyway. I knew I needed to get her somewhere safe: Unfortunately, the only place I could think of was another world, and that rift above the temple that led into the Chaos Vortex was my only option.

"Without the Chaos Kin, that place is essentially barren," he explained. "I had to go with the hope that she'd be okay- at least for a while, until after Hades's attack. And I told her that the next time she saw me, you'd be there too, and that seemed to give her some peace of mind. So… you want to go find her?"

"Of course," Pit replied with a serious tone. "The sooner, the better, before something else happens."

"Right," Kuro nodded. "I need to get my bow, and then we can go. The Underworld Army is still at large. And…" he turned toward the temple and went back inside with Pit following close behind. "Here's the thing, Pit."

"What?" The blue-eyed angel wondered. Kuro was silent for several moments as they headed back to the original chamber Pit had woken up in.

"Hades…" he took a deep breath. "Hades doesn't really exist anymore." Pit blinked as they reached the chamber, and Kuro grabbed his bow quickly.

"What do you mean he doesn't exist anymore?" the commander demanded. "What- after all that, his attack, he should be stronger than ever!"

"I understand why you'd think that," Kuro agreed. "And if he'd gotten the chance to actually use the souls, then yes. He would be. But…" he frowned as they headed back up and outside. "The attack itself weakened him. A lot. And the souls themselves were merely contained in the Underworld. He didn't have the energy to use them yet." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly as they exited the temple. "So, he didn't have the energy to fight off Nemo."

"What do you mean?" Pit asked, afraid of the answer.

"Nemo essentially destroyed him. I mean, Hades did fight back, but… I don't think he ever actually had a chance. I don't know if this all was part of Nemo's plan all along, but he succeeded and absorbed Hades's powers. That's when I left, and he didn't chase after me. I don't know what he plans to do from here, but… it can't be good."

"No…" Pit nodded. "We have to find Lady Palutena. Whatever Nemo is up to…" he shuddered, not wanting to think about it as both angels took to the air and hurried toward a small rift in space itself that still remained above Palutena's temple. As soon as they passed through it, Pit immediately felt confusion hit him as the realm around him swarmed with countless unimaginable abnormalities. Again, he reflected on how appropriately the Chaos Vortex had been named.

"I left her on that platform where we fought the Chaos Kin," Kuro informed him. "It… wasn't fun going back there."

"I bet," Pit agreed. "Getting there is going to be difficult, isn't it? This place is nuts."

"That too," Kuro mumbled.

"What?"

"I've never felt that helpless," the black-haired angel admitted. "When the Chaos Kin had me… I think that's the only time I've been struck with genuine fear of what it was planning on using me for. And then you… your wings…" he didn't bother to go on, and Pit didn't want to relive the memory. "Regardless. That's in the past now, and here we both are. Let's go let Lady Palutena know you're okay- I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

"Hey, I will be too," Pit reminded him, and the two quickly made their way around the strange stone formations and structures, the eyes and arms that randomly appeared from nowhere and disappeared just as quickly, and everything else that Pit simply couldn't describe- other than pure chaos.

A short time later, after a baffling flight, their destination came into view, and Pit's heart jumped with hope and relief as he made out the shape of his ruling goddess standing on it.

"Lady Palutena!" he yelled out, trying to catch her attention, and he could see her turn around in the direction of his voice. As soon as she did, however, horror struck him as she suddenly disappeared in a shaft of darkness. "Lady Palutena!" he cried out again, straining himself with Kuro struggling to keep up as he made his way to land on the platform. "Lady Palutena…" he repeated, but any sign of her had vanished.

"Alright," Kuro growled. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"You didn't hide her well enough," a voice replied, and both angels scanned the area wildly for its source. From a shadow cast on the rock below them, a form suddenly emerged and took the shape of a surprisingly feminine-looking boy, his silver hair streaked with dark blue and black locks and his red eyes bright, strikingly contrasting his pale skin. He wore a blue, tattered robe with a dark navy scarf, and a jagged red hook of sorts held the robe closed with several dark streams of… something… hanging from it. His hands emitted a dark aura of sorts, and he watched the angels with a reserved gaze.

"Who… who are you?" Pit demanded.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Pit, Commander of Skyworld's army and servant of the goddess of Light. I am Nemo. I'm sure Kuro has told you all about me."

"Anything he needs to know," Kuro said curtly.

"Wait," Pit blinked in disbelief. "YOU'RE the Oracle of Darkness? You're the one who defeated Hades?"

"Yes," Nemo replied simply, though there was no trace of either hostility or triumph in his voice.

"Where's Lady Palutena?" Pit demanded. "What have you done with her?"

"I have no intention of harming her," Nemo dipped his head. "Nor you, if you'd be willing to cooperate with me."

"Forget it," Kuro replied before Pit had any chance to ponder it. "You're insane. Whatever you're doing… No. We're not falling for it."

"So, you'll fight," Nemo surmised.

"Exactly," Pit nodded.

"That's a shame," the Oracle sighed, shutting his eyes. "I would hate to have to fight either of you- such strong, honorable warriors. Champions. But… I have a vision, and I won't let anyone or anything get in my way." He opened his eyes. "It really is regrettable. Please, both of you, won't you consider it? Even a little. Come to me when you've come to a decision." Pit immediately pulled his bow apart and lunged at him, but Nemo disappeared in a wind of darkness.

"What the…?" the angel looked around, dumbfounded.

"So, that's that," Nemo's voice echoed around the Chaos Vortex. "You won't even consider it. Very well, angels. Next time we meet, it will be in battle."


	7. Chapter VII: Rearrangement

"I am never going to forgive him," Pit growled as he and Kuro soared away from Skyworld. "We have to find her. I don't care what it takes. Whatever he's planning, I'm going to stop it."

"I know, but we've got to regroup," Kuro replied. "He's probably expecting a head-on, immediate attack. If we go in now, we'll get slaughtered." He scanned the horizon, frowning. "And, from what it looks like, we're the only ones standing in his way- the only ones who survived his attack and are willing to fight. I mean, Dyntos is probably still around, but… you think he'd fight?"

"Even if he did, we'd have no way of getting there in the first place," Pit grumbled. "But… I don't know. Let's look for survivors for now. Maybe SOMEone out there is still alive. I don't know how, but…" he sighed. "We need to try. If anyone is out there, then Nemo will probably take 'em out before too long." Kuro nodded.

"That's the best lead we've got right now. Let's go." Pit let out a slow, heavy breath as they dove down toward the surface. "Hey, that's…" Kuro pointed toward the nearest town a relatively short distance away. "That's where we found Levica, right?"

"Yeah," Pit swallowed. "I wonder if Gaol…"

"Only one way to find out." They sped up and quickly made their way to the town, not bothering to avoid being seen. Pit landed in front of the temple with Kuro right behind him.

"HEY!" Pit called out loudly, and Kuro rubbed his ear. "IS ANYONE OUT THERE?" He stopped and strained his ears for a response that never came. "ANYONE AT ALL?" Again, nothing, and he sighed in defeat.

"I'm going to take to the air," Kuro told him. "See if I can't find anyone. You want to search on foot?"

"Sure," Pit replied, his voice dull.

"Alright," Kuro dipped his head. "Rendezvous here in half a mark?"

"That works," Pit nodded. "See you soon." With that, Kuro leapt back into the air and flapped his wings to gain altitude, and soon he leveled himself out to soar back over the buildings. Pit turned and headed to the northern part of town where he and his partner had arrived the last time they had visited, and his heart twisted in agony as he came to the main street. Despite the awful scenes that had run through his imagination before when Kuro had explained the situation, he couldn't have prepared himself for what he saw now. Human forms were scattered across the street, having dropped where they were when Hades had attacked. The angel shuddered and an ill feeling took hold of him as he dragged his unwilling feet, stepping over the fallen bodies.

"My nightmares are going to be filled with this for decades…" he mumbled to himself as he rubbed his arms. "How could anyone do this…? How could anyone let this happen?" He swallowed as he continued on, hoping he wasn't going to be sick. "HELLO?" he called out again. "CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?" Again, not a single sound. No humans, not the buzzing of insects, not the chirping of birds, not the padding of scampering pets on the path. Silence had a tight grip on the air around the angel, choking him with grief.

"Please…" he mumbled, his voice caught in his throat. "Someone answer me…" But no one answered his plead as he continued down the street, forcing his gaze to scan over the humans to see if any of them, even one, would respond. He found no one, to his dismay, and he sighed heavily before turning a corner toward one of the side streets.

Almost at once, before he could even register it, Pit took a hard blow to his midsection that travelled up and hit his face and was sent flying back, and he landed back in the main street with a thud, the wind knocked out of him as he lay there, stunned.

"What the…?" a gruff voice inquired as Pit heaved himself up, finding spots of blood on the dirt below him, and the pain in his nose easily told him where it was coming from. He wiped the side of his hand above his upper lip and, sure enough, found blood there. He coughed and got to his feet, fighting to keep his balance as he recovered from the blow. Once his groggy vision cleared, he found himself staring at large-built man, his messy dark hair falling down to his shoulders and his bangs partially hiding his yellow eyes. He had a short-trimmed beard and gripped a large sword resting over his shoulders.

"Magnus?" Pit demanded in disbelief as he picked up his bow. "Is… is it really you?"

"The one and only," Magnus replied. "Sorry about hitting you. But you're the last person I expected to see in this mess." His eyes darkened, and his tone became hostile. "So, angel face, care to explain why Gaol and everyone else around here are suddenly dead?"

"Gaol too?" Pit choked out. "Magnus… I'm sorry. I really am. I… neither of us ever expected anything like this to happen."

"'Us?'" Magnus echoed.

"Me and Kuro," Pit explained.

"Ah, that other angel that was with you. Gaol told me she'd –literally- run into you a few weeks ago. She was so happy about seeing you again, I didn't have the heart to tell her how much it worried me you had come back. When you come around, you bring trouble."

"Well, it's usually me trying to stop the trouble," Pit pointed out.

"Whatever. So, want to tell me why this happened?"

"I should probably start with the fact that Hades did this," Pit began, and Magnus nodded. "Kuro and I-"

"Okay, back up," Magnus interrupted. "Who is this 'Kuro' guy you keep mentioning?"

"He's my- wait. He's going to kill me for calling him this, but…" the angel scratched the back of his head. "Remember Pittoo?"

"Uh… yeah," Magnus nodded slowly. "That dark lookalike of yours. I met him back when the Reapers were attacking that one time and we fought off that Death Incarnate or whatever your goddess called it."

"Well, Lady Palutena kind of changed his name to 'Kuro.' Apparently, it originates from a western language and means 'dark' or 'black.'"

"I see. So he's still fighting with you."

"Yeah," Pit nodded. "And… I probably wouldn't be here if it wasn't for him."

"Anyway," Magnus said quickly, "Speaking of your precious goddess, what's she doing in all of this?"

"She was lucky she didn't end up killed by Hades like everyone else… Kuro managed to save her, but…" He swallowed his resurfacing grief and anger. "A guy called Nemo kidnapped her. I don't know where she is now, but she's probably in the Underworld."

"Alright…" Magnus squinted his eyes shut and massaged his forehead with his free hand. "Who is this Nemo kid?"

"He was the Oracle of Darkness… a spirit, I guess, that helped maintain the Balance of the world. But… he freed Hades after we beat him five years ago and then… the attack Hades unleashed weakened him a lot, and Nemo killed him and absorbed his power."

"You're telling me he destroyed the lord of the Underworld."

"I know, it's hard to believe, especially when you look at him. He's pretty slender and has these red eyes that… they just seem like they see everything. But you would never think he was hostile. I mean, I always say that bad guys are supposed to be all 'I'm gonna KEEEEL you,' but he… I don't know how to explain it."

"Don't judge based on appearances, huh?" Magnus surmised.

"Essentially," Pit nodded. "Anyway, Kuro and I are fighting against him in hopes that we can restore the humans and everything else to the way it's supposed to be."

"Alright… you know, you're the first soul I've come across since this happened," Magnus informed him. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"But… no offense, but how did you survive?" Pit wondered.

"Beats me," the swordsman shrugged. "I went to the temple for the first time in several years. Gaol hadn't been feeling well, but she'd made a point of going as often as she could to pray. I offered to go in her stead so she would stop worrying and rest, but while I was there, some weird light came through and… I guess it knocked me out. But when I woke up and left the temple… well, look around. You can see the result."

"That temple was built in the honor of Lady Palutena," Pit noted. "Maybe that's why. Was anyone else in there at the time?"

"Just the priest," Magnus answered. "But he was killed a few days ago by some Underworld minions."

"Great," Pit mumbled. "Magnus, I'm really sorry. I'll find a way to fix this and save Gaol, and everyone else too." Magnus's eyes lost focus for a moment.

"Even if we could save her…" he grit his teeth. "Would it survive too?"

"You mean her child?"

"So, you do know," Magnus sighed heavily, and Pit's eyes strayed to find a ring on the swordsman's left hand.

"I'll do everything I can," Pit vowed. "I promise."

"Guess that's the best I can ask for," Magnus nodded. "Count me in when you can. I get it- you can travel faster than I can, but…"

"I know, I understand," Pit forced a smile.

"Magnus!" Kuro's voice reached Pit's ears as the black-haired angel landed a few feet away from them. "Huh. I guess of all people out there, you should be one who survived this." Magnus blinked as he stared at the newcomer.

"Wait. YOU'RE Pittoo- er, Kuro?" Kuro shot a glare toward Pit before turning back to Magnus and nodding.

"Yep. Obviously, I've changed a bit since we last met."

"Change for the better, I guess," Magnus shrugged. "Anyway. So, you can fly on your own now, huh?"

"We both can," Pit confirmed. "Turns out there wasn't anything really wrong with my wings. They just needed time to mature. Lady Palutena said that being able to fly was a sign of adulthood for angels."

"So angel face is all grown up," Magnus snorted and smirked a bit. "Congratulations on flight. Anyway, if you two don't mind, would you fill me in on whether you even have a plan or not?"

"Sure, but first," Kuro frowned. "Pit, why do you have a bloody nose?"

"My fault," Magnus put in quickly. "I thought he was some Underworld nuisance."

"I'm fine," Pit agreed, wiping the slowing flow of blood from his lip again.

"Okay…" Kuro blinked. "As for a plan? I mean… I assume Pit has told you about Nemo."

"To some extent," Magnus replied.

"Well, we want to stop him, and we need to save Lady Palutena. It's just…" he lowered his gaze. "Neither of us are sure exactly how to go about this."

"We're kind of stuck right now," Pit went on. "We don't know what Nemo is really capable of nor what his actual plans are. But…" his gaze drifted skyward, and he trailed off. "Wait… hey, Kuro." He pointed toward the horizon above the buildings. "Do those look like the Forces of Nature to you?"

"…Yeah. Huh." Sure enough, several Nutskis and a duo of Toxiecaps, followed by several other species of Viridi's creations, were flying toward the surviving trio. "I guess Viridi survived… somehow. Maybe she's sending backup?"

"Or maybe they're knockoffs that Nemo created," Pit mumbled darkly. "Viridi? Are you okay?" There was no answer, and as they Forces of Nature drew closer, they opened fire. "Wah!" Pit summoned the Energy Shield, one of the three new Sacred Treasures created for him five years previous, from a brace on his left wrist. He knelt down behind it and the shots fired toward him were nullified on contact. He dispelled it and both angels took to the air with their bows at the ready. "Viridi! What gives?" he demanded, but received no answer. He sighed and set to work, dodging around the fire from the Forces as he and his twin made quick work of them, alternating between arrows and blades.

"Dumb acorns," Kuro spat as Pit looked back down to Magnus, who was dealing with several ground-based Forces.

"Magnus! Watch out! That round thing is gonna-" Boom. The Bumpity Bomb exploded as Magnus's blade hit it, sending the swordsman flying back. Magnus grunted as the angels landed and fought with their backs to each other, circling around and firing their shots until the Forces had been defeated.

"Whoo," Magnus got to his feet and limped over to them. "You two have been training together, haven't you? You've really learned to fight together."

"We try," Pit nodded. "Are you okay?"

"I've had worse. I'll deal with it," he shrugged. "So, the Forces of Nature are against us too. Perfect."

"I guess…" Pit sighed heavily.

"Seriously, Viridi, what's going on?" Kuro growled.

"Maybe I should just come out and explain," a level, mid-ranged male voice answered. Pit, Kuro, and Magnus exchanged several confused looks as a green light illuminated a short distance away from them, and when it died down, it revealed what appeared to be a young man, his red hair falling in front of the right side of his face and slightly tamed by a root acting as something of a headband. His blue-green eyes watched them steadily, and his skin was an even, fair tone. He wore a dark green robe with gold accents belted by another thick root and dark brown pants, with boots of a similar color that sported something like bark around his lower legs and a vine climbing around his left knee. On his left shoulder was a leaf-like piece of armor and another root snaked up his forearm. In his right hand, his wrist wrapped in a red cloth with black accents, he held what Pit immediately recognized as Viridi's staff.

"Who the heck are you?" both angels demanded within seconds of each other. The newcomer rolled his eyes and raised his free hand.

"Kuro, is it?" He looked at the red-eyed angel. "I appreciate you wanting to help, but I can take care of myself. And the heavens know I'd never want to be stuck doing Viridi's bidding all the time." Kuro blinked, obviously baffled by his words. The newcomer's gaze shifted over to the blue-eyed angel. "So, that must make you Master Pit, Lady Palutena's angel. It's a pleasure to meet you at last."

"Uh… sure?" Pit stared at him. "Who are you?" The newcomer sighed.

"I took the name Vis. You would know me as the Oracle of Winds."

"You're kidding…" Pit breathed.

"No, I'm serious," Vis continued. "But, regardless, I'd prefer it if you would refer to me by my… current position. I am the god of Nature."


	8. Chapter VIII: Trials

The angels stared at Vis, both of their eyes expressing confusion, anger, hate, grief, disbelief, and several other dumbfounded emotions that Pit was sure Kuro was feeling as well.

"That's impossible," Kuro finally growled.

"I figured you would think that," Vis smiled a bit. "But I killed Viridi myself and Master Nemo gave me her powers. I can assure you I won't be letting things slide as easily as she did, and the humans…" his gaze fell on Magnus. "You're lucky to be alive. Master Nemo may regret that your little Gaol and the child she was carrying both perished, but you won't find such sympathy from me. Heck, if I had my way, I wouldn't even give your kind another chance."

"WHAT are you- Gah!" Pit stumbled to catch his balance as Magnus shoved both him and Kuro aside as he charged at Vis, his sword at the ready. But before he could get close enough to attack, the staff in Vis's possession disappeared and he thrust his hand forward, a gust of wind and a flash of light knocking the swordsman back. Before Magnus could recover, Vis, with a motion from his left hand, pulled a stream of water from a nearby jug from the main street of the town and it froze as it travelled, stopping inches from Magnus's chest.

"Move, and he's dead," the former Oracle warned as Pit tried to ready an attack. The angel grit his teeth and lowered his bow. "That's a good little angel."

"How did you do that?" Kuro demanded.

"Simple: I'm the Oracle of Winds, which gives me power over the air itself and access to its energy. Hades's attack killed Unda, and Master Nemo allowed me to make use of her ability as the Oracle of Water- it helps keep the Balance in check, plus it's a benefit."

"HOW can you talk about the Balance like this?" Pit yelled. "Everything you and Nemo have done has thrown it completely haywire!"

"Actually, Master Nemo has it under control. When Levica was killed, he took her power for himself to maintain the Light, and he killed Onore himself. I have no idea how he managed to evade Hades's original attack in the first place." He paused as he withdrew the hanging ice from Magnus, allowing him to get to his feet. "Light- that reminds me. Pit, Kuro, if you have any intention whatsoever of retrieving your precious goddess, I suggest heading for the City of Souls."

"Let me guess: Nemo set up shop there," Kuro said flatly.

"Precisely," Vis nodded. "He had no intention of harming her, but that, from what I understand, will depend on you." He shrugged. "Belief or disbelief rests with you. I'm sure you're not exactly trusting of me. But, regardless…" he took a step back. "If you'll excuse me, I have some Forces of Nature to recreate. Bumpety Bomb? Pew Pew? Dibble Dop?" He sighed heavily and shook his head. "What the heck was she thinking?" With that, he disappeared in a flash of light. Pit blinked as he tried to process everything Vis had just told him.

"Are you okay?" Kuro wondered, turning to Magnus.

"I've had worse," the swordsman replied. "That brat has a pretty swelled head on his shoulders, huh?"

"I don't know," Pit frowned. "He seems pretty sharp. But anyway… Kuro, what do you think?"

"About going to the City of Souls?" He sighed. "I don't know if we have much of a choice. We can't just sit here and do nothing. It's our only lead." Pit nodded.

"That's just what I was thinking." He looked to Magnus. "I'm sorry, Magnus, but we gotta go. Will you be okay?"

"Sure," Magnus smirked a bit. "Don't count me down just yet. I can handle a few Forces of Nature. Go and find your goddess. Then we'll talk."

"Alright." Pit dipped his head and both angels leapt up into the air. "We'll be back! Good luck!"

"You too," Magnus called after them as they headed off.

"This is going to be a long flight, isn't it?" Kuro wondered once they were a decent distance away from the town. "I mean… we've got to get there by ourselves. No gate from Lady Palutena of whatever else."

"Yeah…" Pit grumbled. "But hey, we'll get there. Anyway… I'm glad Magnus is okay. But… something tells me Nemo will wipe out any other survivors faster than we can get to them. I'm getting the feeling that the best thing we can do for them is beat him."

"You're probably right," Kuro agreed. "There's no point to Nemo coming out and meeting us. If we want to beat him, we'll have to spring any traps he may have for us. We don't have much of a choice."

"I swear, if he's hurt Lady Palutena in any way…" Pit clenched his free hand into a tight fist. "But I agree. We're almost always going to have to be on the offensive if we want to make any progress toward beating him."

"And throwing Vis into the equation isn't helping," Kuro sighed. "I can't believe Viridi… I mean, is she really dead?"

"Much as I hate to admit it, there really isn't much of any other explanation for how he has that power," Pit let out a slow breath. "Jeez, Kuro. Look." He pointed down toward the surface to find a herd of what looked like horses, and every single one of them had fallen to the ground with no signs of getting up.

"Humans, animals, gods, spirits…" Kuro mumbled. "Was there anything that WASN'T killed by Hades? Or Nemo, I guess?"

"Only angels," Pit joked darkly.

"That's true," Kuro agreed. "We're just really hard to kill, huh?"

"Especially since it takes killing both just to take out one," Pit smiled a bit, but it quickly faded. "But… Kuro, promise me something."

"What?"

"Whatever happens… you'll get out. You'll survive." Kuro didn't reply for a time.

"I'll try. I mean, heck, I'd like to stay alive if possible. But…" he paused. "There's really no guarantee of anything at this point." Pit blinked, and, after a moment, sighed heavily.

"Okay…" With that, he dove down and quickly came back up in altitude, stopping and hovering right in front of his twin.

"Wah!" Kuro thrust his wings forward and came to a turbulent halt. "What are you doing?"

"Kuro," Pit gazed at him firmly and crossed his arms. "Look, I hate to do this. But… as your commander, I'm ordering you to GET OUT if it means the difference between living or dying. Do you understand me? You're going to survive this." Kuro stared at him blankly, obviously caught off guard. He blinked and finally sighed.

"Understood, Commander," he replied. Pit nodded and turned around, resuming his flight forward. "I can't believe you just did that."

"Did what?" Pit wondered, looking back over his shoulder with a small smile on his face.

"ORDERED me to stay alive," Kuro glared at him, though there was a glint of humor in his eyes. "Really? I'm not even sure if your rank applies in our current situation."

"Hey, nobody said it didn't. Lady Palutena's army may only consist of two soldiers right now, but that doesn't mean we lost our ranks. Therefore, I still outrank you."

"By seniority alone," Kuro laughed.

"Are you calling me old?" Pit demanded. "Because I'm not. Heck, I just reached maturity a couple of years ago."

"You've still physically been around longer than I have," Kuro pointed out.

"Whatever," Pit dropped the subject. "Let's just find the City of Souls before my wings give out from this flight." Exhaustion, he realized, was going to be their greatest immediate adversary. He had to be sure he didn't strain his wings for too long.

By the time the duo had reached the Underworld, Pit felt a different kind of burning in his wings than when he had used the Power of Flight. As the City of Souls came into view, both he and Kuro let out a sigh of relief.

"About time," Kuro grumbled. "Let's see if we can bust in there."

"That may be difficult," Pit pointed out. If the stream of souls had become a raging torrent back when the humans had gone to war over the Wish Seed, it was nothing short of pure chaos now, engulfing most of the City itself. Pit squinted his eyes against the bright lights of the souls around them as they entered the City, and he was almost immediately knocked off balance and wrenched himself around quickly to regain a stable flight.

"I guess this is what happens when you wipe out the entire world," Kuro noted glumly. "This'll be fun."

"Let's just go for it," Pit suggested. "Flying low may not be a bad idea at this point."

"Whatever works," Kuro agreed. "Let's go." The angels dove down toward the ground, dodging around the waves of unhinged souls and leveled out a few feet above it. After a rocky and turbulent flight that nearly made Pit lose his lunch, the main structure of the City of Souls where he had first encountered Hades in his previous adventure, came into view. He shuddered, unable to suppress the memory of the Reaper that had very nearly finished him. He swallowed and tried to shake it off, training his eyes forward.

"Looks like we've got a welcoming party," he noticed as he found Nemo standing on the platform leading into the structure. To his surprise, the former Oracle was waving at them. Pit glanced over at Kuro with a confused look on his face.

"Might as well go down," Kuro shrugged, and the two angels made their way over to land on the platform.

"Welcome," Nemo greeted them with no trace of hostility or sarcasm in his voice. "I was worried the… instability of the souls around here would impede you, but I suppose I should expect no less from Lady Palutena's champions. Are either of you hurt?" Pit stared at him, his confusion only growing.

"No, we're fine," Kuro replied.

"Yes, I can tell by the dried blood on your face, Pit," Nemo pointed out. "Bloody nose? What happened?"

"None of your business," Pit growled, wiping the blood from his lip.

"I figured you would say that," Nemo nodded. "Your friend Magnus packs quite a punch, doesn't he? I suppose it shouldn't have been any surprise he managed to fight off my forces for so long."

"You can't beat him!" Pit replied, but quickly got an elbow in the arm from his twin. "What?" Kuro gave him a silencing look before turning back to Nemo.

"You didn't…" he said in a low voice.

"I'm afraid Vis was persistent, especially after he asked me for reinforcements." Nemo lifted his hand and a soul from the chaos around them drifted toward it. "I admit it hurt me when I learned about Gaol… no child deserves death before it has even had a chance at life. But Magnus, like the two of you, only stood in my way. Much as I didn't want to harm him, considering the suffering he'd already endured, I had to go through with it."

"But we…" Pit blinked. "Just… saw him…"

"And in the time it took for you to arrive here, he fell," Nemo elaborated solemnly, his red eyes soft. "My apologies to the both of you. I know you held a great respect for Magnus, Pit. I hope you find some consolation in the fact that he took quite a number of both my forces and Vis's down with him. But, despite his strength, he is human. He was going to fall."

"You're a monster!" Pit yelled, rage boiling up inside him again. "How could you do all this?"

"The humans have had their chances to prove themselves," Nemo replied. "Just as the gods did. But how can the humans learn to live peacefully when the gods they look to are always fighting?" Pit opened his mouth to reply, but couldn't think of an argument. "It's an unfortunate truth of our world." Pit grit his teeth, breathing heavily with his anger.

"Where's Lady Palutena?" he demanded, pulling his bow apart. "What have you done with her?" Nemo stepped to the side and motioned for them to enter the structure.

"Why don't you go find out for yourselves?" he replied. "I swear to you that I won't attack. Go ahead." Pit exchanged another look with Kuro.

"You first," Kuro growled at their adversary. Nemo nodded and walked in, quickly disappearing into the shadows. The angels hurried to catch up with him.

"My bad," Nemo lifted his hand and a light illuminated from it. "I'm accustomed to the dark, as you may have guessed, therefore it doesn't bother me. But I forgot you two may have trouble in it."

"You really did steal Levica's powers," Kuro accused.

"I don't know if I would say 'steal,'" Nemo pondered, "More… put to good use. Levica was killed in Hades's onslaught. I didn't want her power to fade, so I took it for myself. This way, I can oversee the Balance of Light and Dark- to some extent, considering Lady Palutena is still in power."

"So… she's still alive, at the least," Pit realized, feeling some small relief in his worry.

"Quite," Nemo confirmed. "As long as her soul remains strong, then she will retain her power and position as the goddess of Light."

"So you haven't tampered with her at all?" Kuro inquired, and Nemo's lack of a reply only added to Pit's stress. They came to a large chamber Pit didn't recognize, and a single large throne stood at the end opposite the entrance. Through the windows on either side, Pit could see the torrents of souls outside, and a dark red carpet lay from one end of the room to the other.

"I'm afraid that isn't quite the case," Nemo finally spoke up again, and lifted his voice. "Why don't you come out and greet our guests?"

From behind the throne emerged a figure, a woman garbed in a white dress with no shoes. Her dark green hair was pulled into a braid and her eyes were dulled and unfocused. She was hunched over slightly, like keeping her balance was a challenge. Pit blinked, unable to believe what he was seeing, and Kuro clenched his fists and bit his lip, his brow furrowed.

"Look with more than your eyes, Pit," Nemo advised. "What do you see?"

"L-Lady… Palutena…?" Pit felt something clench his heart, and it quickly turned to hatred toward the new lord of the Underworld. "What have you done to her?" He yelled, his face turning red.

"I… suppose you could say I want to test you," Nemo replied as he suddenly sunk into the shadows and out of the sight of the angels. "My dear," his voice echoed around the cavern. "I'm afraid our guests are impeding my progress. Would you mind teaching them a lesson?" The woman that was formerly Palutena didn't speak, but straightened up.

"N-no…" Pit choked. "Lady Palutena! I know you're in there! Don't let him do this to you!"

"Come on, Lady Palutena," Kuro pleaded. "You know us. Don't make us…" he didn't finish the sentence, but Pit already knew what he was thinking. The woman in front of them didn't respond, but lifted her hand as a bright blue light enveloped it, and she quickly shot it toward them with no hesitation.


	9. Chapter IX: Cease Fire

Pit jumped out of the way and rolled to the side as his opponent's attack sped past him. He bit his lip, trying to control the chaotic rush of emotions within him, keep his mind clear, his eyes from watering and blurring his vision. Unfortunately, it was hard to think like a commander when he was fighting the one person who was higher than him on the hierarchy. This woman crafted from Palutena's being showed no signs of recognizing the angels, nor any indication that she was going to listen to his pleads to stop her attacks.

"Just…" Kuro took a deep breath as he dodged another stream of light. "Think of it like the time you had to fight her when the Chaos Kin had her…" Pit could tell he didn't really believe his own advice.

"I didn't actually have to attack her directly that time," Pit replied, his voice strained as he again realized what he had to do. "Lady Palutena… this is for our world, the humans, the Centurions, and the Balance you've fought so hard to protect. And with that goal in mind… I'll fight. No matter who or what stands against me, I'll fight!" He grit his teeth and lunged forward, but the woman nimbly dodged his blades and retaliated with a blinding flash of light that sent him flying back, and he landed with a thud. He quickly got back to his feet and connected the blades back into his bow, then readied an arrow and fired it quickly. Again, the woman dodged, and he clenched his teeth as he propelled himself into the air to avoid another retaliation. She took aim at him again.

"Not so easy, is it?" Kuro yelled out as one of his arrows hit her, and she squealed briefly in pain. He fired several weaker shots that each hit home, and Pit dove down to follow up with an attack on his own. She brought her arm up at the last moment, and his blade left a deep gash in it that quickly started bleeding heavily, and his stomach churned with guilt. She glared at him, and he winced at the harshness in her eyes. Before she could strike again, though, another bright red arrow hit her as Kuro sprinted toward her. As he drew closer, Pit caught a clear glimpse into his eyes and saw that this battle was tearing him apart inside- a sentiment that Pit shared with him.

"You've never been a fighter," Pit mumbled as he attacked again, managing a cut across her abdomen, and she fell to her knees with her arms wrapped around the wound in agony. "But… that's why you have me." He blinked back the hot water stinging his eyes as he observed her. "I'm doing this for you, Lady Palutena… and everything you ever worked for. Please…" a trace of begging crept into his tone. "Forgive me for this…" and with a tightened voice and closed throat, he plunged one of his blades deep into her chest. Her mouth gaped in a silent scream and a shudder shot through his body, regret and guilt overtaking his being.

Those emotions were quickly joined by shock and confusion as her body fell over, and a bright, blinding light slowly rose from it. Just as Pit's mind managed to decipher what it was, a form suddenly appeared from her shadow cast on the floor and its hand reached out and snatched it. Her body faded from view as the form solidified back into the new lord of the Underworld.

"Impressive," Nemo nodded as Pit's mind whirled with rage and grief, and he felt his face flush red with anger as he gripped his swords tight.

"What is WRONG with you?" Kuro bellowed as he raced over, his red eyes set on fire with his fury. "What kind of sick, twisted little creature are you?" Again, Nemo merely held up his hand in a request for silence, but Pit wasn't about to comply.

"What have you done to her?" Pit shoved off his back foot and aimed directly at the silver-haired boy in front of him, but Nemo ducked and dodged out of the way. Pit hit the ground and rolled forward, fuming.

"Pit, Kuro, I know you won't forgive me for this," Nemo continued. "But please understand: I wanted to test your resolve. I wanted to see whether you would truly fight by any means necessary if it meant having a chance to defeat me." He bowed his head. "I never wished to put Palutena in danger, but… it was one of the best ways I could be sure of just what lengths you would go to." At that, he looked up again. "I have one more request for the both of you. I would appreciate it if you would join me for… a talk, of sorts. No battles, no reinforcements, no ambushes, nothing. I want to have the chance to tell you exactly what it is I'm doing, so you'll better understand. And I want to know what you two are thinking."

Pit blinked and exchanged another dumbfounded look with his twin, and there was only one thing he was sure of: Nothing that Nemo did ever made any sense to him. He shook his head briskly and moved closer to Kuro, lowering his head.

"I'm not even sure if we have a choice," he mumbled. "And… if we can get any information whatsoever that may help us…"

"I see what you mean," Kuro nodded. "What do we have to lose? Much as he's ticking me off right now and I'd rather take a Blade to his throat than listen to him…" he sighed. "What he did to Lady Palutena is unforgivable. But for the sake of us even having a chance of winning, we have to know what we're fighting against and why."

"So, we agree?"

"We agree."

"Alright then." Pit turned back to Nemo, his usually bright blue gaze hard and darkened. "Fine, we'll have a chat with you. But no funny business."

"I'm quite serious," Nemo nodded. "And thank you, both of you. Please, follow me." He walked toward the room's exit and left with the angels following him, again illuminating the way with a bit of light magic. As they walked in silence, Pit tried to calm the rapids of anger, hate, and grief running through him with little success. It wasn't long before they reached another chamber, one where a plain, dark wooden table and several chairs had been set up around it.

"This wasn't here before," Kuro noticed.

"I recently brought them in for this purpose exactly," Nemo elaborated. "Please, take a seat." After several moments of hesitation, Pit sighed and sat down with Kuro doing the same a heartbeat later. Nemo waved his hand toward the table, and, to Pit's surprise, a Drink of the Gods appeared before both of them. "I'm sure both of you are exhausted, and Pit, I know you're injured. Please." He motioned toward his offering. "I swear to you this is the usual concoction that Lady Palutena or Mistress Viridi would leave for you. I haven't done anything to them." After hesitating again, Pit took the bottle and downed its contents quickly, feeling relief flood his body and his energy slowly return. Nemo took a seat as Kuro drank his. "Feel any better?"

"Well enough," Pit replied, trying to maintain enough self control to see this little meeting through as a commander and not as a mourning servant. "So, Nemo, get to the point. What's with you? Why are you doing all this?"

"My reasons are actually pretty simple," Nemo began. "This world and its inhabitants, on the path it was on before Hades destroyed so many lives… it was headed toward its own destruction. Bloodshed would forever be on the horizon if things continued the way they were. The humans could never truly keep peace with each other- something would always come up, usually centered around greed, that would cause a new war to break out." He paused. "And how could they be taught any differently when the gods who govern the world they live in are constantly at odds with each other, starting wars that affect everything they're trying to fight over." Pit opened his mouth to argue, but Nemo interrupted him. "Please, let me finish. You imprisoned Hades in the Underworld in hopes that it would assure he couldn't cause any more violence and mayhem. But, whether I was involved or not, he would keep finding ways to break free, and again, battle would be necessary to seal him again.

"It would be a vicious, endless cycle until the end of time, and it's quite possible that you would eventually lose. Hades would learn your weaknesses and exploit them, whereas you couldn't attack his: his weakness, the fact that his physical form could be destroyed, was his greatest strength as well. You couldn't follow through with defeating him, lest his soul simply repeat its former patterns that you both dealt with five years ago. And Hades would never give up: he would always fight back, no matter how many times you and Lady Palutena try to seal him back.

"Now… Mistress Viridi. It's true, Lady Palutena was on decent terms with her, and I believe you two even considered her an ally, especially in more recent events." Pit nodded. "But even so, her arrogance, coupled with her hunger for power and thirst for revenge, would lead her to strike against the humans whether Lady Palutena opposed her or not. Either way, the only ones who would actually defend the humans are Lady Palutena and you two. But, I believe you already knew that."

He paused for a moment, giving the angels a chance to process what he'd explained. "Now then… my course of actions. I knew back when Lady Medusa was defeated thirty-three years ago that bloodshed would always be inevitable. But part of me argued against the ideas I had been coming up with. Much as I may not have liked her, Lady Medusa was my ruling goddess, and I was bound to her up until Hades destroyed her. That instance, and when Lady Palutena sealed Hades in the Underworld… that is what led me to my decision. I don't want power. I only want to reform this world into one where peace has a chance. I'll bring back the humans and everything else that Hades wiped out as best I can… but with a few changes to ensure peace. I'll rearrange the realm of the gods to suit this new world and be sure that they will protect the Balance. That is my ultimate goal, and I will do whatever it takes to see it become reality."

Pit blinked, disbelief likely evident on his features, and Kuro simply looked appalled and angry. The red-eyed angel motioned for his twin to speak, and Pit nodded to him before turning back to Nemo.

"What gives you the right to do this?" he demanded, his hands clenching into fists on the table. "Even the gods aren't perfect. You're an Oracle- a Spirit. What makes it so you get the final say of how this world is run?"

"No one simply has that right," Nemo replied, his voice level as always. "But someone had to take it, and I decided that someone was going to be me. I believe my vision will work."

"But what if it doesn't?" Pit argued. "Our world and the humans were crafted in a specific way. You can't just rewrite everything and expect it to work. There are GOING to be problems."

"I'll do my best to avoid the worst of it," Nemo answered. Pit glared at him.

"Our world is supposed to be like the way it was for a reason," he pressed. "Rearranging is going to cause issues. It's not going to work in the long run. Maybe all the humans need is for the gods to teach them. You're right- the gods do have their fights, but it's usually caused by some selfish desire to expand territory or some idea of revenge. Viridi wasn't giving the humans a chance- she just wanted to wipe them out. How are you any different?"

"I plan on bringing them back," Nemo said simply, and Pit frowned as he tried to think of how to continue.

"Are you going to let the humans keep their free will?" Kuro suddenly asked.

"I beg your pardon?" Nemo watched him curiously.

"Are you letting the humans have their free will?"

"I plan on allowing them some…" the new lord of the Underworld agreed.

"Then they'll challenge each other," Kuro continued. "With their free will to decide for themselves what they'll do, the drive to be the best they can be, they'll act out, and you won't be able to stop them so easily. But if you take away that free will, then you take away their desire to grow. They won't be human anymore." He paused to watch Nemo's reaction, but the former Oracle betrayed nothing. "That's why they need guidance. They're like children," he scoffed. "They need direction. Example. Killing them isn't going to help anything. Letting them loose with no guidance will just cause bloodshed. But if you want humans in your new world, they'll need free will. And, in all basics, they either have it, or they don't. There's no in-between." Silence fell over the table as Nemo pondered what he'd said, and Pit reflected on how he would have been hard pressed to come up with the same argument. Again, he realized just how right Palutena had been when she'd said that Kuro's forte was picking apart issues from every angle.

"You make an interesting point," Nemo finally replied. "And I commend you for that. But… I believe the humans, as they were before, have simply become unteachable. If they're gullible enough to believe something like the Wish Seed and are willing to spill the blood of every other man around them over a rumor, then they won't listen to reason."

"But you don't know that for sure!" Pit spoke up again. "It's not like anyone has actually tried. There were four gods who actually had any sustained interaction with the humans: Lady Palutena, Medusa, and –to some extent- Viridi and Hades. But three of the four of them just wanted to cause chaos for the humans or simply wipe them from existence."

"And those differing views are the reason the humans cannot be taught," Nemo pointed out. "It's an unfortunate truth. But as long as the gods oppose each other to such extremes, then the world itself is always on the edge of collapse and the Balance in danger of being tipped one way or the other. As an Oracle, it's my duty to protect that Balance by any means necessary."

"What if we could prove the humans can be taught?" Pit insisted, but Nemo shook his head.

"It's too late for that, Pit. I admire your optimism, but it's unfortunately misplaced. Now… as for you two, you're the only ones standing in my way from completing my vision. I, as it stands, can't have anyone who would fight against me before or after I reform the world. I can't have anyone out there who has any recollection of the world before I stepped in to clean it up. That's just the way it is."

"What about Vis?" Kuro inquired bluntly.

"I'm… not sure about Vis," Nemo admitted. "I may or may not wipe his memory. But that's not my most immediate concern right now."

"We are," Pit guessed, and Nemo nodded.

"Yes, you are. So, angels, if you don't join me now, then I can no longer assure you will come to no harm from here on out. I will treat you as I would any other obstacle and remove you by any means necessary."

"Then I guess you'd better get started," Pit spat. "Forget it, Nemo. We won't go quietly. Both of us will fight until either you fall and we fix the mess you've created or you manage to kill us both."

"And we're REALLY hard to kill," Kuro smirked darkly.

"Yes, your shared soul," Nemo nodded slowly. "Such an intriguing phenomenon. But… I don't have time to ponder it. Be sure that I won't stop so easily either. This is going to end either with your fall or mine, and I'm determined to make sure it's you."

"Fine," Pit stood up. "Then, Nemo, the next time we meet, it'll be in battle." Despite everything, Nemo smiled a bit and stood as well, dipping his head toward the commander.

"Then may the best of us win. I'll allow you half a mark once you leave this structure to get out of the Underworld if you wish to do so. After that, it's fair game."

"Sounds good," Pit nodded. "Until the next time we meet, then." Nemo nodded as the angels turned and quickly left the room.


	10. Chapter X: Nowhere Else to Run

"So… Now what?" Kuro wondered as the two headed away from the entrance of the Underworld, about half of the time Nemo had given them over. Pit didn't have an answer for him as he tried to struggle through the raging rapids that were his emotions to reach a level of coherent thought. He was having little success, as every time he thought he broke through, the image of that woman's face when he stabbed her came up in his mind. He hated Nemo for turning his beloved goddess into such a mockery, hated himself for being unable to defend her, hated himself even more for attacking her, and a small part of him hated Kuro for saving him and making him deal with this.

"I don't know," the blue-eyed angel finally replied, his voice dull. "What can we do? Viridi is dead, and I have no idea how to get to Dyntos's workshop…" he sighed, again trying to direct his thoughts to useful ideas. "Everything is against us. Nemo and Vis both want us dead, and between the two of them, we don't really have anywhere we can go without having to worry about an attack."

"Then…" Kuro trailed off, and Pit assumed he was thinking their options, however undesirable they all seemed, were. "Maybe we should just head back to Skyworld," he suggested. "That way, we've at least got the home field advantage. Plus, there's Hot Springs." Despite everything, that brought a small smile to Pit's face. "I don't know about you, but I'd do anything for a good soak right now."

"That sounds about right," Pit chuckled glumly. "Skyworld it is. Not like we have any better ideas." The two quickly readjusted their flight path toward the clouds.

"Not having a gate makes things a lot more difficult," Kuro complained, though it seemed like he was more trying to fill the silence and distract both Pit and himself. "And I guess it's kind of funny."

"What?" Pit wondered.

"We can fly on our own. But, despite that, I think, especially for times like this, I'd prefer the Power of Flight itself over merely having the ability. I mean, at least when we're using that power, it gives us a bit of a speed boost and less of a need to maneuver. You know what I mean?"

"True," Pit agreed. "But… obviously, we don't really have much of a choice." He sighed.

"I swear, I'm not quitting until Nemo's blood is on my blade," Kuro growled. "We're finishing him. I don't care what it takes."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Pit nodded. "If it all comes down to either him or us, we'll be sure it's him. Though…"

"What's eating you?"

"His ability to mess with souls like that. I wonder if our… bond… would still apply, or if it wouldn't even matter to him."

"We'll only have to figure that out if he manages to kill one of us," Kuro pointed out. "Personally, I'd like to avoid that."

"Me too." Death, even if they were being paranoid about Nemo's abilities, simply wasn't an option to him. "He's not seeing the flaws in his plan," he continued suddenly.

"Well, yeah," Kuro agreed, "But what do you mean?"

"I mean like it wasn't his place to decide all this, and he's looking at a new world that would be the same as ours, if not worse, if he allows the humans their will. Sometimes I think the gods need to step in to teach them. But that's just it: TEACH them, not just punish them."

"If a parent punishes a child without telling it what it did wrong, there's no progress at all," Kuro pointed out.

"Exactly," Pit nodded. "They need guidance, not wrath."

Once the angelic duo had reached Skyworld, Pit's wings were again crying out in protest at the long flight, and his landing in front of Palutena's temple. He gasped, breathing heavily as he scanned their surroundings.

"No Underworld troops," he reported, more to himself than anything. Skyworld was essentially the same as when they had left- lifeless, nothing stirring, with a haze of sorrow hanging over it. Kuro walked over to stand next to him, stretching as he looked around.

"We should probably take advantage of this reprieve while we've got it," he advised. "Think you're okay to get over to the Hot Spring?"

"If the Hot Springs are even still around," Pit mumbled. "But-"

"Oh, don't worry," A voice spoke up from behind them, and Pit spun around and looked up to find Vis standing on top of the temple. He cracked a smirk as he gazed down at them, and he unfolded his arms as he shrugged. "Master Nemo made sure the Hot Springs remained untouched. Like the two of you, he enjoys a good soak every now and again. He wouldn't dream of getting rid of them." He jumped off the temple, the wind around him slowing his descent and he touched down relatively gracefully.

"'What are you doing here?' is probably a stupid question," Kuro growled, and both angels readied their bows. "Come to do Nemo's dirty work and finish us off for him?"

"I suppose that's one way of putting it," Vis replied. "But I'd gladly accept the opportunity to be the one to wipe you two from existence. Plus, I wanted to see the famous Skyworld, and this gave me a chance to do it." He lifted his hand above him and a light quickly and briefly flashed from it, and moments later a legion of the Forces of Nature –or so Pit thought- rose up from between the islets that made up the angels' home.

These new Forces of Nature kept their organic appearances and it was easy to tell what was originally a Nutski, a Toxiecap, a Flage. But they'd lost their "cute" appearances that Viridi had given them and now came across as truly dangerous at first glance.

"Like my modifications?" Vis inquired. "Seriously, I don't know what Viridi was thinking when she first made these things. But I'm sure you'll find they pack even more of a punch now." His smirk grew into a dangerous smile. "And, of course, that's all in the case that I don't finish you off first." With the Forces of Nature quickly surrounding them, the angels fell into step with their backs to each other.

"This doesn't look good," Pit grumbled. "But we gotta make it through."

"One wannabe god and his lackeys… it'll be tough, but we can take 'em," Kuro said, then took a deep breath. "Wait… Pit."

"What?"

"I've got my armor- I can hold them off for a few. Go get the Treasures."

"What?" Pit demanded. "I can't just leave you here to-"

"Then hurry back, idiot," Kuro cut him off lightly as he took aim. "I'll leave a few for you to pick off."

"Fine…" Pit sighed.

"If you two are done with your little conversation," Vis prompted, "I'm getting tired of waiting. If you won't make the first move, I will." As a flash of light illuminated behind Pit for a moment, Vis signaled for his Forces to attack.

"Go!" Kuro barked, and Pit sprinted toward the entrance of Palutena's temple, bringing his bow to the side quickly to knock Vis out of the way.

"After him!" he heard the new god of Nature order, and he looked over his shoulder to find several of his adversaries closing quickly on him. He cast a power into his bow to charge his shots quickly, and fired at the head Nutski. Two shots destroyed it and he leapt back as he fired again, then dodged from their retaliation. It wasn't long before he'd managed to take out their group and continued down into the lower levels of the temple until he came to a large room, mostly empty except for a chest on the side opposite the entrance. He hurried over to it and opened it, then pulled out two powerful and impressive-looking bows along with what appeared to be a light green clasp for his tunic.

The angel quickly swapped his former red clasp for this new one and focused on it, and a light briefly enveloped him before leaving him clad in a shoulder guard, chest plate, shin guards, and two plates at his sides along with a helmet, all colored a deep bronze with a pale gold edge. He grabbed the bows and hurried back out, through the main hall of the temple and outside into the chaos that was Kuro trying to hold off the Forces of Nature.

"Kuro!" Pit called out and tossed one of the bows toward his twin. The red-eyed angel retrieved it and smiled.

"Now, we're in business," He noted and took back to the air, firing shot after shot that took their enemies down quickly.

"What the heck is that thing?" Vis demanded, stepping forth from the side.

"A weapon personally made by the god of the Forge," Kuro replied proudly. "One of the strongest in existence. And…" he tilted his head. "Guess what?"

"Mine's even stronger," Pit finished. Vis snorted and shook his head.

"Big talk, puny angels," he scoffed. "It doesn't matter. Whether by my hands or Master Nemo's, you're going to fall." He stretched his fingers for a moment, quickly losing any sense of humor that had enveloped him before, and his eyes shone with a deadly seriousness and determination. Pit returned the gaze and readied his bow, but Vis swept his hand to the side and a gust of wind sent him tumbling over the side of the islet.

"Uh, I can fly," he pointed out and spread his wings, unable to resist smiling as he stabilized himself and started back toward the islet.

"Perfect," Vis replied, but Pit could find no trace of sarcasm in his voice. The god of Nature raised both of his hands for a moment before quickly forcing one down and the other to the side. Pit stared at him curiously just as two strong gusts hit him, going in different directions, and he felt something wrench in his wings that made him cry out in pain. Unable to bear being in the air, he dropped back down to the islet as Kuro shot down the last of the Forces Vis had brought along.

"It's just you and us," he announced as he took up a fighting stance behind their opponent and Pit readied his bow once again. Vis smirked and shook his head.

"I get to finish you off myself. Excellent." With that, he lifted both his hands again and a bright green light flashed around the area, blinding Pit momentarily just as Vis struck out with some sort of wind-based magic that knocked the angels back again, and Pit felt like something had cut clean through him. He coughed as he recovered and got back to his feet, then quickly retaliated with a charged shot from the Winged Bow. Vis dodged the arrow and retaliated with another shot of magic, and Pit attempted to pull up the Energy Shield. His attempt was futile, however, as the attack hit him square in the abdomen just as he managed to summon it. The breath knocked out of him, he fell back and landed hard on the rock beneath him, stunned.

Before Vis had a chance to follow up, however, Kuro fired several shots that hit home and he sprinted forward, pulling his weapon apart into two blades and slashed toward his target. Pit blinked in confusion as he got to his feet as he suddenly heard the clang of metal on metal, and he found Vis had pulled out a dagger and used it to block the red-eyed angel's attack.

"I wonder if I should bother using this on you," he pondered. "Or should I reserve it for killing gods?"

"You… what do you mean?" Pit demanded as he prepared to attack again.

"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Vis let out a heavy sigh. "I killed Viridi. With this." He gestured to the dagger as Kuro withdrew his blade. "Let that be a lesson to the two of you."

"Alright, I've had enough," Kuro growled. "You ready to finish this guy, Pit? Are you done playing?"

"I guess," Pit replied. "Let's do this." Both angels sprinted forward and, before Vis had a chance to dodge, slashed their weapons forward and cut deep. Pit found himself impressed that the new god had managed to stifle a cry of pain, but he quickly lost his footing and fell to the ground, clutching his wounds.

"What vicious brutes you two are," he accused through clenched teeth. "I didn't plan on your weapons being so strong." Despite his injuries, he got to his feet and readied another attack.

"Vis!" A voice echoed around Pit's head, and he quickly recognized it to be Nemo's. "Enough. You're injured, and I'd prefer to keep you alive. Keep pushing yourself, and you'll just kill yourself if they don't first."

"But-"

"No buts. You got your little test in. Now pull out."

"Not yet!" Vis argued, but a dark-colored light quickly enveloped him and pulled him out of Skyworld. Pit stared at the spot he'd been standing in, dumbfounded.

"I must say, that was an interesting battle," Nemo went on. "And you both preformed well. But I won't be losing my ally so quickly. So, while I deal with him, I suggest you two take the time to rest and recover. It won't be long before your next battle- that, I assure you."

"I really wish you were more 'GRAAH' and 'I'm gonna KEEL you,'" Pit sighed. "It'd save me from a lot of headaches."

"Well, I'm afraid that's just not my style, Pit," Nemo chuckled. "Until we meet again." With that, he fell silent and Pit turned to his twin.

"How are your wings?" Kuro wondered as he unequipped his armor. Pit attempted to stretch them out for a moment, but winced as pain shot through them and into his back.

"Not good," he admitted. Kuro nodded.

"Then let's get you over to the Hot Spring." He took to the air. "Give me your wrists." Pit raised his hands and Kuro grabbed hold of his arms, hoisting him into the air. After a short flight, Kuro dropped his load into a large Hot Spring on the edge of the main part of Skyworld, and Pit lowered himself in further. The pain in his wings, and everywhere else, quickly evaporated and he let out a sigh of relief as Kuro splashed in next to him.

"I think we need to head back to the Underworld," he began, turning his gaze toward Pit. "The longer we wait around here, the more likely it'll be that he'll just pick us off sooner or later. We won't make any progress unless we go on the offensive."

"True," Pit nodded. "And, if we still have a chance, we need to get Lady Palutena's soul back."

"So, we go after Nemo if she's not there. And if she is…"

"I'll deal with her if you'll keep Nemo distracted," Pit offered. "So, if we can release her soul again like we did last time, we'll be able to get it before him."

"Sounds good," Kuro dipped his head. "Tomorrow morning, then. I don't know about you, but I NEED sleep. I'm exhausted."

"Me too," Pit agreed. "We'll take shifts, then. You can go ahead and sleep, and I'll stay up and keep watch. Then we'll switch. Does that work?"

"Yeah," Kuro confirmed. "I hate this: all this waiting, the ever-constant threat that we'll just be killed." He sighed. "We've got all of existence as we know it riding on our shoulders."

"Hopefully not for much longer," Pit pointed out. "I get the feeling that this'll end soon: one way or another."  
"We'll just have to hope we're the winners."


	11. Chapter XI: Grief

Pit took a deep breath as he and Kuro entered the Underworld once again, armed with the new Sacred Treasures and itching to reach the City of Souls. Though he dreaded the thought of battle, he couldn't help but wish he were already there. When he was fighting for his life, he didn't really have time to worry about everything else that was going on.

Despite exhaustion, his sleep the previous night had been disrupted and full of nightmares, and his subconscious had forced him to relive his fight with the being Nemo had created from Palutena over and over again. Pure adrenaline was the only thing keeping him wide awake, the fear that Nemo or Vis would strike the moment he closed his eyes. The angels had quickly established before they'd left Skyworld that morning: They couldn't go on living like this.

"Is there any way we can fill this silence?" Kuro asked lightly. "I can't stand it."

"Let's see…" Pit pondered. "What haven't we covered?"

"I don't know," Kuro replied as they neared the City of Souls. "I wonder why Nemo hasn't sent us a welcoming party. Considering how our last meeting with him went, I kind of expected an onslaught of monsters trying to shoot us down."

"I had a mishap with the monsters," Nemo spoke up, startling both of the angels.

"Dang it, Nemo!" Pit yelled out. "How long have you been watching us?"

"Seriously? Since you arrived in the Underworld. I kind of hear you whether I want to or not down here. Before then? I've been busy dealing with Vis and his complaining about my pulling him out from battle, so I didn't get a chance to check on you."

"Ah." Pit frowned, again dumbfounded by whom he considered his enemy.

"So, what mishap?" Kuro wondered.

"Hades destroyed a lot of them when he attacked," Nemo explained. "Said he would just reform them later. 'I'll have more than enough souls to make sure they're stronger and better than ever,' he'd said. But anyway, obviously he didn't get a chance to do so."

"Because you killed him," Pit spat.

"Wiped from existence is probably a better term," Kuro agreed.

"I did what I believe had to be done," Nemo said somewhat defensively. "Anyway. I didn't want to form any new monsters, as that would have required souls. Right now, I'm only holding on to them until I can return them to the living world. I won't waste them on minions. Besides: I'd much rather face you myself instead of risking you defeating all of them."

"And we'll just defeat you instead," Pit replied through grit teeth.

"We'll see about that," Nemo's voice was level, betraying no emotion. Pit sighed as he dodged around the torrents of souls, Kuro right behind him, and they quickly arrived at the shrine they had last encountered their adversary at. As soon as he landed, the blue-eyed angel took a deep breath as the shadowed entrance yawned at him.

"I don't suppose you have a torch," he said as he glanced over his shoulder at his twin. "I forgot to bring one."

"And you have NOTHING that'll produce some sort of light?" Kuro grumbled. "Great. Guess we just go in and hope for the best."

"It was a straight shot down the main hall to get to the throne room, right?" Pit recalled, and Kuro shrugged.

"I think so," he replied. "Let's go." Pit readied his bow and crept inside, taking each step carefully as they echoed off the walls. He swallowed as a drop of sweat threatened to fall into his eye, and he wondered if Kuro could hear his heart hammering in his chest. After stumbling around in the silence for what seemed like eternity, a light appeared ahead of them and Pit picked up his pace until he emerged from the hall into the shrine's throne room.

"Hello, Pit, Kuro," Nemo greeted from his seat on the throne. His eyes were closed, his head tipped gently to the side, and his hands were curled into loose fists resting on the arms of the throne. To Pit's dismay, the strange being that had once been Palutena stood next to him, back to her struggled balance and vacant expression. "I'm glad you made it safely. I'll admit a part of me believed Vis would ignore my orders and send his Forces after you. Not that I doubt you would have been able to deal with them." He lifted his head and opened his eyes solemnly. "I see you brought the gear Lord Dyntos made for you. I'll be interested to see them in action."

"Okay," Pit sighed. "Before you give me another headache of me trying to process how you can be evil and act like this at the same time…"

"Who said I'm evil?" Nemo replied. "You may not like my actions, but surely you'd agree my intentions are good. Lady Medusa was after revenge. Hades was acting for power. I only want a more peaceful world."

"And, like them, you'll destroy anyone who gets in your way," Kuro pointed out.  
"So do you two, do you not?" He clenched his fists tightly. "Never have I seen such destructive power contained in one soul. You two have struck down the Underworld Army, the Forces of Nature, even your own Centurions, and fought the leaders of all three armies, destroyed the Aurum, and banished the Chaos Kin."

"Only because diplomacy never had a chance," Kuro argued.

"He's right," Pit agreed. "Everything we did was in defense of either Skyworld or the humans. If they hadn't attacked first, we wouldn't have countered." After a moment, Nemo nodded.

"True," he continued. "And you two are pawns. If Lady Palutena points you in a certain direction, you really have no choice in the matter, do you?"

"Yes, we do! If there's something wrong with what Lady Palutena is doing, I'll speak up about it," Pit replied defensively.

"If anything, we aren't pawns. Yes, we are obligated to follow orders, but we are allowed to question them," Kuro said through a clenched jaw.

"I see," Nemo slowly got to his feet. "Then, now that you know a little more about what I'm capable of, I would like to see how you handle this." He looked to the being that was once Palutena and gestured toward the angels.

"Coward!" Pit spat as the new lord of the Underworld disappeared into the shadows. "Come out and fight us yourself!"

"Think of it as using my resources," Nemo replied as the woman straightened up, and her dulled gaze fell on the blue-eyed angel. "Plus, you haven't received an order in quite some time, have you? How can you bring yourself to attack her, again, when she hasn't done anything wrong? She's doing what she believes is best. There's no rabid moth this time, Pit. I'm not controlling her."

"You just reformatted her thoughts to work in a way that benefits you," Kuro said flatly.

"Again: Using my resources. I wish you luck, angels. It would be a shame if I didn't get a chance to test your ability against my own." Pit invoked the Energy Shield and blocked the stream of light their adversary shot at them and took a deep breath, trying to bury his hesitation and regret.

"This is our chance," he hissed at Kuro as he dodged away from another attack. "If we don't save her now, we may never have another chance." Kuro nodded. "So, you'll deal with Nemo, right?"

"Yeah. So, I suggest you stick with melee combat and I'll back you up."

"Sounds good." Unfortunately, before he could make a move, the woman lashed out with several slicing crescents of light that knocked him backward. He flipped and sprung off his hands back to his feet and sprinted forward, striking with his bow once he was in range. She stepped back at the last moment and the blade left a shallow cut on her abdomen. Kuro shot forth several arrows that knocked her to the ground and Pit slashed forth again and managed to inflict a deep gash on her side, but, to his shock, she forced herself back to her feet and slammed her hand against his chest plate, and the impact combined with her power knocked him back again and left him breathless. He swallowed and recollected himself as he got to his feet, and immediately dashed back over to her as Kuro attacked again with his arrows.

Again, she was knocked to the ground, and Pit brought the edge of his bow down hard and it cut deep. Her mouth gaped in a silent scream, but he didn't need to hear it to understand the agony she was in. He grit his teeth and struck again, quickly and cleanly. She fell back, bleeding heavily, and her eyes lost any trace of focus formerly in them as her back hit the ground.

"Kuro!" Pit called out, forcing the word around the lump in his throat. "Now!" A pale light formed above her fading body and Kuro sprinted over, launching himself at Nemo's rising form and tackling him to the ground. Pit grabbed the light, what he now knew was Palutena's spirit, as best he could and launched himself into the air. "Let's go!" He called back to his partner and summoned the Energy Shield again, using it to break through one of the room's windows and into the Underworld itself with Kuro joining him a moment later.

"Why isn't he chasing after us?" Pit gasped as he strained his wings, heading quickly toward the Underworld's entrance.

"I don't know," Kuro replied. "I don't see any of his troops or anything. Maybe Vis has a welcoming party waiting for us up ahead."

"We'll just have to bust through," Pit said, his eyes trained ahead toward their destination.

A short time later, they passed out of the Underworld and Pit came to rest on a Cliffside nearby. He stretched his wings for a moment and let out a heavy sigh of relief as he tried to fight off the exhaustion in his limbs, and he looked down at the soul hovering in his hands as he unequipped his armor.

"Lady Palutena," he breathed, a smile spreading across his face as Kuro approached him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Pit's smile faded, however, as he realized how dull the light from the soul was, its once-vibrant hues of yellows, bright greens, and blues becoming faded shades of gray.

"…Pit…?" A soft, faint voice echoed around his head, and his focus zeroed back in on the soul. "Is that… is that you?"

"Lady Palutena?" Both angels wondered, though there was no doubt in Pit's mind that it was her voice.

"I'm here," he replied, a strain that he couldn't explain gripping his heart. "You're safe now, Lady Palutena. Nemo can't hurt you any longer. We'll fix this."

"No…" Palutena's spirit responded, to Pit's confusion. "Pit… what Nemo has done… Other steps must be taken. I…"

"What is it?" Pit asked, the lump in his throat reforming.

"We'll do anything," Kuro promised. "Whatever it is… we'll keep you safe."

"That… that's not it," Palutena replied. "I… haven't the strength to continue…"

"Don't say that!" Pit pleaded and felt Kuro's grip on his shoulder tighten. "You'll be okay. You're the goddess of Light!"

"I…" she paused. "Not for much longer. I… I can feel my energy draining away as I sustain the light. This world needs that Light and someone to protect the Balance…"

"And that's you, Lady Palutena," Kuro insisted, and Pit nodded in agreement.

"Nemo… his antics have… it's taken so much of my being to sustain myself and the Light as much as I can…"

"He's going to pay for this," Kuro spat. "I'll make sure of it."

"Pit… Kuro… I'm grateful for both of you… Everything you've done for me and what's right." Pit tried to swallow the lump in his throat, but had no success. "But…" she continued, "I won't be able to stay with you. My soul… it's been far too damaged by Nemo's actions." She paused. "Pit, I need you to do one last thing for me."

"Anything," he promised.

"I need you to take my place." His jaw slacked open and his gaze went blank. "You are my second in command in Skyworld and I know I can trust this to you. You must restore our world and protect it… Lead Skyworld and defend the Balance…"

"B-But…" Pit found himself lost for words, his lip quivering as he fought back the lump in his throat. "Lady Palutena!" he protested.

"You swore you would take over my role if something impeded me from performing it," she reminded him gently.

"But… I never thought it would be like this!" his voice wavered. "You… It would be only temporary. You always find a way through…"

"Not this time, Pit…" his heart jumped at the fading sound of her voice. "My time is at an end… and yours must begin…."

"But-"

"There's nothing else we can do. Please, Pit… take the last of my power… become the god of Light…" He clenched his teeth and bowed his head, his tears spilling over, and he found himself trembling.

"A-All right…" he stumbled over the words. "If that's your last wish…"

"Thank you, Pit. And Kuro, I'm trusting you to keep him safe…"

"I will," Kuro replied, and Pit could hear the pain and grief in his voice.

"Now then… Pit…" A light suddenly illuminated beneath him, blinding him as her soul lifted into the air above him. He felt himself slip out of his immediate consciousness and was vaguely aware of a warm wind and streaming light sweeping over his body, lifting him off his feet, intertwining with the feathers of his wings, around his fingers, among his messy locks of hair, under his chin. The exhaustion in his muscles evaporated to be replaced with a sudden surge of raw power unlike anything he'd ever experienced. He felt some sort of warm strength settle into his own soul. After a moment, his feet settled back to the ground, and he cautiously opened his eyes. He looked down to his hands, awestruck by what had just passed through him, unable to believe it to be real.

"Are you okay?" Kuro wondered from behind him. He turned around slowly and nodded.

"Y-yeah, I think," he replied, his voice shaky, and he stretched his wings. "Well, at least I can still fly…" he smiled for a moment, but it faded as his tears spilled over again. "She wouldn't take my ability to fly…" He wiped his eyes and took a deep breath. "I don't care what it takes. But Nemo is going to pay for this." He swallowed and felt some sort of new determination rush through him. "I call the shots now, and he'll have to deal with it."

"Right, about that," Kuro began, and Pit gazed at him, puzzled. "Though it's going to kill me to do this…" He knelt down and bowed his head, crossing one arm over his chest. "I swear to honor Lady Palutena's last wish and defend you with my life, Lord Pit."

_Lord Pit…_ The name echoed around in his mind as he tried to fathom that it truly belonged to him.

"Kuro…" He shook his head. "Please. Promise me this won't come between us. You're my brother above all else." Kuro looked and got to his feet, nodding. "And, I guess you're my new commander too."

"I'll do what I can," Kuro replied, and he smiled a bit.

"What's on your mind?"

"An angel of darkness as the god of Light's second in command. It's just… funny, I guess." Despite everything, the remark brought a smile to Pit's face.

"And I won't forgive him if he falls in battle," he replied.

"But first, let's go pay Nemo back for everything he's done and show him what you're now capable of." Pit nodded and, following some unspoken command in his mind, he lifted his hand above his head and slowly moved it from side to side, a stream of light forming with it. He grabbed it just as it solidified and became a staff that bore a striking resemblance to the one he'd always seen Palutena holding, and grief hit him again as he observed this one that now belonged to him.

"He won't know what hit him," he agreed, his grip on the staff tightening as he rested its end against the ground, and his smile grew a bit. "Hey, Kuro. You know what this means?"

"What?" Kuro stared at him curiously.

"We've got the power of a god back on our side."

"And?" Pit's smile grew into a mischievous grin. "Why are you smiling at me like that?"

"You'll see!" With that, Pit searched this newfound database of information he found he had access to and took a deep breath, then lifted the staff as a glow surrounded the orb at its top.

"What are you doing?" Kuro demanded.

"This." Pit thrust the staff toward his twin and a light emitted from the red-eyed angel's wings, and he lifted off the ground and into the air. Almost at once, Kuro started laughing.

"The Power of Flight!" he grinned. "Thank you." Pit leapt into the air, bow in one hand and staff in the other, and directed his new power into his wings to catch up with the angel he considered his brother.


	12. Chapter XII: Determination

Pit found himself lost in a sudden onslaught of information that flooded what seemed to be his entire being. He did his best to sort through memories, new senses, and the knowledge he knew Palutena had before, but he never would have guessed how vast and deep it was.

"Pit!" Kuro's voice roused him from his thoughts. "Dang it, Pit, if you weren't controlling my flight path right now…" he let the sentence hang.

"What?" Pit wondered, turning his head to glance at the red-eyed angel.

"I've been yelling at you for the past minute or so. You okay?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Sorry. It's just…" he shook his head gently. "Kuro… it's crazy. We didn't have any real understanding of the Balance and everything about it. There's so much more to it all than we ever could have guessed." After pondering that thought, he looked back at his twin. "It's… a lot to take in."

"Huh," Kuro frowned for a moment. "Anyway. So, what's the plan? I mean, I assume we're going to challenge Nemo. But how are we going about this?" Pit thought it over for a moment.

"Well, we can't kill him," he replied rather bluntly. Kuro stared at him for a moment.

"That's a bit disappointing," he grumbled. "Why not? I'd LOVE the chance to tear him apart for everything he's done."

"Believe me, I would too," Pit agreed. "But Nemo holds a lot of the Balance up right now, and I don't have the power or the experience to restore everyone he's stolen power from, or return all the souls he's been hoarding to their owners. I mean… Not only Hades, but he has Levica, Onore, Thanatos, Poseidon… The list goes on and on. He holds life and death, light and dark, and a lot more. I think I know how I can at least decrease some of that power, but it won't be easy. Plus, totally erasing him would require bringing back both Hades and Medusa, and both of them have been totally wiped from existence, so that's essentially impossible if we want to keep things as close as they were before he started this little crusade."

He found himself hard pressed not to laugh at Kuro's dumbfounded and blank expression. To him, every word made sense, but it seemed that wasn't the case for his twin.

"Uh… Okay?" Kuro blinked. "Let me guess: it would take reforming their bodies to revive them, and we'd need to use souls for that. And we can't do that, because that would require taking from all the people that Hades killed originally."

"Beyond that, Hades's soul doesn't even exist anymore," Pit went on.

"Wait… what?" Kuro demanded. "What do you mean?"

"I mean… Okay, this is going to take some explaining," Pit sighed and took a deep breath. "Okay… so, say I have a piece of grass, okay?" Kuro nodded. "And I held it out to you. If you pulled on it, but I didn't let go, what would happen?"

"It'd break," Kuro replied.

"Exactly. So, say… let's say that piece of grass was Viridi's soul." This clearly caught Kuro's interest, and his red eyes brightened. "Say I was Viridi and you were Vis. The piece of the grass you'd be holding represents her power as the goddess of Nature, and the piece I would have represents the rest of her soul. Vis could use her power, but the rest of her soul is still in existence. It's still out there- albeit severely weakened- and I bet either Nemo or Vis is holding it somewhere. So, Vis HAS Viridi's power, but we can still get it back and return it to Viridi's soul, completing her again, and we could revive her just as she used to be."

"So… Vis didn't totally steal her power. He's just using it."

"Exactly. It isn't actually a part of him- well, it is. But not permanently. If you stole back that power, he'd still be alive, able to survive. He'd just be back to his status as an Oracle." Kuro nodded. "Now… let's say I had a small rock instead of a piece of grass. If you pulled on it while I was still holding it, what would happen?"

"Probably nothing, unless it slipped out of either your fingers or mine."

"Right. Breaking it, for the purpose of my explanation here, would be impossible. So, that rock represents…" he swallowed, "my soul. My spirit. Lady Palutena's power… It's a part of me." His eyes lost focus for a moment. "I could feel something in my spirit change, strengthen, when she passed her power to me. Anyway," he shook his head and refocused on his companion. "So, in short, you can't take that power from me without outright killing me. I became the…" he suddenly found it hard to choke out that title, "the god of Light, by rite of passage. That power IS me."

"Okay…" Kuro sighed softly. "So, in other words… there's a difference between you and Vis. Vis is a pretender, sort of. But you're the real thing. We may be able to restore Viridi when this is all over with, but… Lady Palutena…" Pit shook his head slowly. "I figured as much. But, what does this all have to do with Nemo? I mean, aside from him causing it."

"Nemo is both cases," Pit explained. "When he destroyed Hades, he, in a way, fused his own soul with Hades's, giving him power as the lord of the Underworld. So, there's no way I know of that we could restore Hades after all of this. But everyone else, Nemo is only using their power. It hasn't actually become a part of him. So, in theory, we should be able to bring them back, if all goes well."

"But, first thing's first, we have to beat him without killing him, right?" Pit nodded.

"Yeah. And that's where it'll get tricky. And… I need to fight him."

"Right. We'll show Nemo just what happens when he-"

"'I,' not 'we,' Kuro," Pit interrupted, and Kuro stared at him. "I mean… this needs to be a duel between us. Nemo has just about unlimited resources between the Underworld Army, the Forces of Nature, and all the souls he collected. We're the only ones standing in his way. So… It has to be a duel between him and me. No reinforcements, only us. Understand?" Kuro opened his mouth to argue, but let out a heavy sigh instead.

"I don't have much of a choice in this, do I?" Pit smiled weakly and shook his head. "Fine. I understand. As you wish, Lord Pit." Again, the title along with his name echoed around his head as he tried to process that it really did belong to him. A quick glance at Kuro's wings brought him back to reality as he realized one thing he'd forgotten to explain to his comrade.

"Uh, Kuro, get ready to take flight on your own," he advised. Kuro glanced back over at him curiously.

"How come?"

"You're coming up on the limit of the Power of Flight. I need to cut it off: don't want your wings burning up, right?" Kuro blinked. "Alright… ready, and…" Pit extended his hand and snapped his wrist quickly, and the light enveloping Kuro's wings faded. He dropped in altitude for a split second before recovering himself, spreading his wings wide in a glide.

"But… I can fly on my own. How would the Power of Flight still burn my wings up?" he wondered.

"The Power of Flight pushes one's wings past their limit, even if they're capable of flight on their own. Sustaining the increased speed and maneuverability causes a strain on them, and that strain, if pushed far enough, will cause one's wings to catch fire. Being able to fly on your own has very little to do with it- In fact, the only thing it factors into is the fact that we don't HAVE to get to our destination in that five-minute frame. It's just helpful to get as far as we can in that time."

"And what about you?" Kuro inquired, not unkindly, but rather curtly. "If you allowed yourself the Power of Flight, would it affect you in the same way?"

"Well, no," Pit replied sheepishly. "But that's because it's my own power, plus I can focus directly on my own wings, plus use my abilities to fend off the strain it causes." He frowned. "The best way I can think of describing it was when you were using Pandora's power to fly on your own without a limit. You focused the entirety of her power on your flight and nothing else, right?"

"Right," Kuro agreed. "Okay, I think I understand. You have maximum control when you're using it, but not when someone else is."

"Essentially," Pit nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, whatever. None of this will matter if we- err… you, can't beat Nemo. So, let's deal with that first. Then we can cover our methods of flight."

Getting to the shrine Nemo seemed to call home seemed to get easier with every trip they made there, and it wasn't long before Pit's feet touched down on the strange, glass-like blue flooring that served as the platform leading into the shrine itself. Once Kuro had landed next to him, Pit squared his shoulders and raised his hand above his head, and a bright light illuminated from it, casting back the shadows within the corridor leading to the throne room.

"Well, that makes things a lot easier," Kuro remarked, and they quickly made their way down the corridor, their speeding footsteps echoing off the walls and floor. Pit extinguished the light just as they reached the doors to the throne room and the two proceeded through, both taking a deep breath.

_This is it,_ Pit told himself. _No backing out. This all ends now._

Inside, Nemo was staring with his arms crossed lightly at the shattered window the angels had escaped through before, and, at the sound of their approaching footsteps, he turned to face them with what seemed to be surprise. He unfolded his arms as the surprise faded from his eyes to be replaced with… even as he was now, Pit couldn't be sure.

"Back so soon?" he greeted. "I expected you to be gone longer, if you even came back at all." He paused as he studied the angels, and his focus zeroed in on Pit. A guarded look came into his eyes. "I trust you've done your best to find a safe place for Palutena?"

"You won't be getting to her again anytime soon," Pit replied flatly. Nemo nodded slowly.

"Something is different about you, Pit. The light in your eyes… it wasn't that bright before. Did something happen?"

"Why don't you come and find out?" he challenged, aiming the Winged Bow at his adversary. "This ends now, Nemo. No more escaping, no hiding back like a coward."

"Is that so?" Nemo tilted his head a bit.

"Yes, and I have a proposition for you. A duel: You and me, to surrender or death- whichever comes first. No outside interference. Kuro won't help me, and you don't get your army or Vis. Only the resources we have at the start of the battle." Nemo shut his eyes as he listened. "If I win, you'll restore everything to the best of your ability to the way it was before you started interfering- that includes Viridi. You'll remain as lord of the Underworld, but I'll be keeping an eye on you, and you won't do anything to upset the Balance. And if you win, then I give. Do what you want with me. BUT," his emphasis opened Nemo's eyes in what seemed to be confusion, "listen to me, Nemo. You can do what you want with me and the world. Reform it as you see fit. But you DO NOT touch Kuro, do you understand me?"

"Wait… what?" Kuro mumbled behind him, and Nemo glanced from the blue-eyed angel to his twin and back.

"No messing with his existence, his memory, or anything. You leave him alone as long as he doesn't oppose you. He'll stay back and out of your way." Nemo watched him for a moment longer before closing his eyes as he pondered everything he'd heard.

"I see," his eyes opened again, now focused on Kuro once more. "And you agree to all of this?"

"On my life," Kuro replied. "If that's what Pit wants, then I'll comply." Nemo nodded and again shifted his gaze to Pit.

"Then you have a deal. One duel to surrender or to death, winner take all. Is that correct?" Pit nodded and the two slowly approached each other. "Very well. I should hope this would end quickly." He held his hand out, and Pit took hold of it. A small flash of light, signaling their adherence to their agreement, illuminated from the grip before fading quickly. "I'll allow you the first move, little angel." Though Nemo's voice was level, Pit found traces of taunting in his eyes. The blue-eyed angel smirked a bit and shook his head as he released his adversary's hand and stepped back.

"No," he took a deep breath as he equipped his armor, and raised his head with a burning determination rushing through him along with the new surge of power he'd gained. "Understand this, Nemo! I am Pit, the god of Light and ruler of Skyworld!" Nemo's eyes betrayed an instance of shock, but he quickly recovered from it. "For Lady Palutena, for my realm, for the Balance, for everyone who will look to me for guidance and leadership, for my brother, and for everyone else, I will see you fall." Nemo's gaze locked onto his for a moment before the lord of the Underworld smiled softly.

"I admire your spirit, _Lord_ Pit. I always have. But…" his smile faded and quickly turned serious. "My personal feelings have little place here. I will do whatever it takes to see my vision become reality, and I have no intention to losing to you- angel or god." He paused. "I hope you've said your goodbyes to your 'brother,' as you won't get another chance."

"I would only say goodbye if I had any plans for losing."

"Very well." With those words, the soft, somewhat feminine physique and personification Nemo had been presenting for so long gained a previously unseen strength and power, and his usually calm and unreadable red eyes became intense as the dark aura around his hands became stronger and more defined.

Despite having never seen Nemo make an offensive move, Pit knew he was now in for the fight of his life. He quickly adjusted his helmet and readied his bow, focusing his power into it and firing his first shot toward his opponent.


	13. Chapter XIII: True Identity

Nemo leapt into the air, flipping quickly as he dodged around Pit's shot. The angel-turned-god grit his teeth, trying to process his options. Mere force, he knew, wasn't going to win this battle. Once he landed, Nemo smirked a bit, and a thrust of his hand sent several balls of light masked by a wave of darkness toward his challenger. His vision suddenly useless, Pit sighed and quickly invoked his Energy Shield, but the impact still forced him back several steps.

"Dyntos's creations truly are the strongest in existence, are they not?" Nemo inquired, but Pit was in no mood for talk. As a plan finally flashed through his mind, he summoned his staff in a quick, bright light and gripped it tight in his right hand, held low behind him. Nemo watched him curiously, wound tight as he prepared to shift between offense and defense at a moment's notice. "So, you really are the new god of Light. Palutena found she had no other choice, hm?"

"It's your fault," Pit growled in reply. "If you hadn't tormented her soul like you did, she'd still be around!"

"If I recall correctly, you're the one who set her soul loose," Nemo reminded him. "If you'd left her with me, I could have saved her. I had no intention of harming her, but you forced me to those measures."

"Only because you were a coward and wouldn't fight us yourself!" Pit yelled.

"I wanted to test your resolve. It was up to you to decide to fight, regardless of the consequences. If you hadn't taken her soul away from me, I may have been able to keep her alive." Pit tried to think of an argument, but Nemo's words played with his head and he couldn't seem to think straight.

"I did what I thought I had to do," he replied flatly. "If you hadn't started all this in the first place, none of this would have happened."

"Pit! For the love of… well… you, I guess, GET IT TOGETHER!" Kuro all but ordered from the sidelines. "Don't let him mess with you like this."

"Right…" Pit shook his head and refocused on Nemo, his eyes shining with determination. "Hear me, Nemo. You've got something of mine, and I'm taking it back!" Nemo stared at him momentarily in annoyed confusion as he summoned forth his power and thrust his staff forward toward his adversary. Two bright streams of light, one colored yellow and the other a light green, shot forward and pierced through Nemo before he had a chance to dodge, and he cried out in what sounded like confusion and pain. He stumbled and fell to his hands and knees as the light recollected above him, shining even brighter than before, and it retracted back to Pit's raised and outstretched hand. He took a deep breath as he felt his inner power strengthen.

"V-Very good, Pit," Nemo grimaced as he jumped back to his feet and pulled his hand back, a dark energy gathering around it. "You learn quickly. Palutena gave Levica her power, but you could take it away, eh?"

"Indeed," Pit replied and readied his staff again. "And that's not all, Nemo. I'm sure you know better than anyone that the goddess of Darkness's powers were lost to the world. I may not be able to steal your power as the Oracle of Darkness, but that's all you are- an Oracle. And," he pointed his staff at his opponent, "I am the god of Light, your ruling goddess's opposite. I don't need to remind you that, despite everything, the gods are more powerful than the Oracles. I can seal you back." With those words, and a glare of anger from Nemo, another bright light flashed from the orb atop his staff and Pit rushed forward, his wings spread wide and he thrust it forward again. Like a cage, the light enveloped a panicked Nemo and he grit his teeth as it died down. Anger even more evident in his expression, he thrust his hand forward in retaliation, but the dark aura sparked from it fizzled quickly.

"Well played," he remarked. "But I have much more up my sleeve."

"That's no surprise," Kuro called. "They're huge!" Nemo glared at him out of the corner of his eye before turning his attention back to Pit.

"Pardon me for prying," the visionary Oracle went on, "But I did take a peak into Palutena's memory briefly. And something I found was rather interesting." He suddenly faded out of sight and Pit sprinted forward, glancing around wildly. A warning call of his name from Kuro reached his ears, and not seconds later his eyes flew wide as a blast of fire hit his wings. He was launched forward and landed with a thud, his eyes wide as his mind blanked.

"Pull yourself together, Pit!" Kuro called out. "Don't let him play at your fears!" The blue-eyed angel grit his teeth and pushed himself up, only to find another ball of fire shooting straight at him. He rolled onto his back and sprung to his feet, then turned around wildly, but Nemo was nowhere to be seen.

Then, an idea hit him, and he shut his eyes and scanned the area.

"There you are," he mumbled, feeling a grim satisfaction as he focused his power into his bow and shot forward an arrow at blinding speed that managed to connect with Nemo before he got a chance to shift position again. The new lord of the Underworld bowed forward a bit, gripping his shoulder.

"You really are learning," he commended. "Palutena's power combined with your battle skill… such as you were blessed with as your path was set on becoming an angel. Impressive combination." He straightened up. "But Pit, as you are the god of Light, I am the lord of the Underworld. You won't beat me so easily."

"I beat Hades TWICE," Pit replied simply.

"Only once with the Great Sacred Treasure, and the other with the help of Palutena and the Forces of Nature."

"I have Lady Palutena's help now," Pit reminded him. "And even beyond just help, her power is now mine. And the only reason I needed the Forces of Nature is because I couldn't fly on my own." Again, he aimed his bow. "I've grown a lot since I first defeated your master, Nemo."

"Indeed. I've watched you in your training as much as I could. I may not have liked Medusa, but- Hey!" He was cut off as he dodged another arrow, and it barely missed grazing him.

"I'm really not in the mood to carry on conversation. Let's just finish this."

"Very well." Nemo leapt into the air and quickly fired several large orbs of light and fire, and Pit again summoned the Energy Shield. "Not so fast," Nemo pointed forward and one of the orbs exploded just as it hit the Shield's barrier, causing it to shatter, and a pain shot up Pit's arm.

"What the heck was that?" he demanded as Nemo touched down again.

"Don't worry. It's not completely out of commission, but it'll take a while to recharge." He lifted his hand and a fire erupted above it. "And I have no intention of letting you live long enough for you to use it again." With that, he shot the fire forward along with some sort of barriers of his own. And, before he had a chance to react, the attacked slammed into Pit and he was sent flying back, smashing into the wall.

The sound of a crack combined with the spike of agonizing pain in his right wing was enough to remind him his armor didn't defend him from everything.

"Good luck flying now," Nemo's words may have carried a taunt, but his tone was flat as usual. With pain shooting through his wing and back, Pit got back to his feet and glared at him.

"I won't need flight to beat you," he replied through a clenched jaw. Nemo leapt back into the air and levitated there, crossing his arms.

"Maybe, if you surrendered, I'd be able to revive Palutena," Nemo continued, catching Pit off guard.

"D-Don't even joke about that!" he spat.

"I'm not," Nemo insisted. "I'm quite serious. There's no way, as you probably know by now, that you could coexist with her. But, if you wished it, I could likely bring her back using your soul, now that her spirit has merged with yours. Would you give your life, your very existence, if it meant having her back?" Despite everything, Pit found himself agreeing with his opponent.

"I would…" he admitted, lowering his bow.

"I swear to you, I would revive her. Just as she was before- albeit without her memory of recent events." Nemo's eyes softened a bit. "Look, Pit. I really never wanted her to be hurt. That's one of the things about all this I regret. I realize now I shouldn't have let her fight you again, but even I didn't realize the damage her soul had taken. But… if you'll so allow me to…"

"Pit, don't even think about it!" Kuro cautioned.

"I… If I had my way, even if it meant costing me my own life, I'd have her revived," the blue-eyed angel mumbled, staring at the air in front of him. After a moment, he looked back up at Nemo. "But… my personal feelings have no place here. Lady Palutena would never want the world like the way you're planning on reforming it. I won't let her live in a lie. As her servant and as the god of Light, I'll honor her wishes and bring you down! You won't get to me so easily, Nemo. Nice try, though." Nemo clucked his tongue and shook his head.

"Very well. Then it's back to force. I just figured I'd offer you a bit of honor in your death, Pit. Because whether you surrender or not, that is how this will end." He sighed slowly. "You'll have to die."

"That's only if you defeat me," Pit replied, his voice hostile, and he quickly shot another arrow toward his adversary. Nemo, caught off guard, took the brunt of the blow and fell back to the ground, but quickly recovered himself. A sweep of his hand sent another arch of flames toward his challenger, and Pit found himself panicking. Unable to do much else, he tucked his wings in and rolled forward, the fire clawing greedily at him as he passed through it. He found his armor and skin both singed, but ignored it and retrieved his staff.

With a focus of his power, he lifted it momentarily and felt a relief spread through his body as it patched the broken wing he'd suffered. He dodged around another barrage of orbs from Nemo and pushed himself into the air, aiming directly at his adversary. Unfortunately, Nemo then warped out of his path and a blast of fire hit him straight in the head.

"Hot hot HOT!" He complained, tugging at the knot holding his helmet in place and he quickly pulled it off, letting it drop to the ground below him. Nemo's eyes taunted him with a challenge, and he took a deep breath.

"It's hard to hit a target that moves so unpredictably, is it not?"

"Not if you can keep it from moving!" Pit replied quickly, recalling a trick Palutena had used against Medusa when he'd fought her close to eight years previous. He released his staff and pulled his hand back, and two small crescents of light illuminated above his palm. He thrust them forward and both hit their target, cuffing around Nemo's wrists.

"Not bad," Nemo commented. "But not good enough." With that, he raised his hand high and quickly brought it back down again, and Pit was quickly forced down to the ground, the wind knocked out of him, by a glass-like barrier that had quickly extended from above. Nemo landed and held his hand out, palm pointed toward the trapped angel, and a fire erupted from it. "Any last words, Pit?" Pit's mind raced to process some escape, but he couldn't find any. He grit his teeth and let go of his bow, and thrust both of his hands forward. A blinding blast of light shot forth, striking Nemo and forcing him back. His distraction dispelled the barrier and Pit again got to his feet, grabbing his bow as he stood, and he sprinted over as Nemo recovered himself.

"Can't believe I'm doing this," he mumbled and smiled a bit, then launched himself off his back foot and delivered a vicious kick to Nemo's abdomen that sent the victim flying back. He landed on his back with a painful thud, and, within a second, Pit stood over him with one foot on his chest and the edge of the Winged Bow against his throat. Despite everything, the angel's expression was soft.

"You lost," he said simply. Nemo lifted his head briefly before letting it fall back against the ground.

"You said this was to surrender or to death," the lord of the Underworld pointed out sharply. "And I haven't surrendered."

"But I can't kill you," Pit acknowledged. "You hold too much. Killing you would ruin everything, practically destroy the world as we know it, and there would be no way of fixing it. But…" he smirked a bit. "You are, above all else, an Oracle. A spirit in human form. It's your first concern to protect the Balance, isn't it?"

Caught in a corner, Nemo sighed heavily and nodded slightly. "Indeed, it is. Well played, Pit." He paused and shut his eyes. "Finding my weaknesses, no matter how well I hide them, and bringing them to light. No matter what I do, I can't change who I am. You think of the Balance above all else… and that's how I know I can trust you as the god of Light. I yield. You win." Pit felt something shock his free hand as a light sparked from both his and Nemo's. The angel withdrew his weapon and let it disappear in a bright light, and he held his hand out toward his adversary. After a moment's hesitation, Nemo took it and Pit pulled him to his feet. "Uh… if you'd be so kind as to release my power…"

"Right," Pit lifted his hand slowly, then pulled it down quickly and a pale light shattered away from the silver-haired boy. Nemo took a deep breath and took a step back.

"Thank you. All right… I need to prepare. This won't be easy, but I'll stay true to my word."

"I know," Pit smiled. "Good luck, Nemo."

"And to you, Lord Pit." With that, Nemo again disappeared within the shadows, and Pit heard Kuro's quick footsteps approach him as he turned around. Never before had he seen such a bright and genuine smile on his red-eyed companion's face.

"You seem happy," Pit chuckled.

"Well, yeah. You won!" Kuro shoved him playfully. "But JEEZ. Don't scare me like that again. And DON'T sideline me. That was agony watching." He let out a heavy breath. "Seeing several times where he nearly killed you and being unable to do anything about it… ergh."

"But it's over," Pit smiled. "Man… it's over…" the realization crashed over him along with his sudden exhaustion. "We won."

"Yeah, about that," Kuro grinned. "What's the deal with stealing my moves? I thought a surprise kick to the gut was too cheap for you."

"At that point, I didn't care. I needed to end it, and that was the best way I could think of."

"Well, don't do it again," Kuro laughed. "I want to have SOMEthing that sets me apart from you." He looked past Pit's shoulder and out the broken window. "Hey, Pit, look." Pit again turned around, following his twin's gaze, and found the souls around the shrine suddenly reacting to some unseen command. Before long, a blinding flash disoriented the angels, and when it died down, only a few stray souls remained.

"I'm sorry I can't see you off in person…" Nemo's voice sounded exhausted in Pit's head. "But I need to rest. Head back to your homeland, angels. I'm sure you'll find a warm welcome waiting for you."


	14. Chapter XIV: Embrace

Pit opened his eyes to find himself in some unknown location he had no name for. He seemed to be in some sort of marble room, dimly lit from an unseen source. There were no features save a few plain, blank columns that reached up into nothingness above him. There were no windows, no doors, just marble as far as the eye could see, and it was cold under his bare feet.

He looked himself over, just as confused by his wardrobe as he was his location. He wore what seemed to be his usual undershirt, though it was black like his old one instead of the dark navy he was used to wearing more recently. His usual shorts were the same way, and over them was a slightly tattered white cloth wrapped around his waist and held in place by a brown belt with a dark gold clasp of sorts. On his left hand was some sort of dark navy cloth that exposed his thumb, fingers, most of his hand, and his wrist, and there was a white piece of fabric wrapped around his lower right leg and held by two small brown straps. On his left ankle was a gold anklet over another, much smaller, white cloth that hid what seemed to be a black strip of material that passed under the ball of his foot.

Then, he finally managed to process what shocked him the most.

His wings were gone- not even a trace to be found around his shoulder blades. He suddenly felt panicked, weak, and exposed, shocked and dumbfounded as he tried to fish around his mind for an explanation of whatever was going on. He patted his head and found his laurel crown was missing as well, and he could find no reason as to why.

He was roused from his thoughts by the sense of a sudden presence behind him, and he slowly turned around. Almost immediately, he felt his heartache spring anew as he found himself looking straight at what, at first glance, appeared to be a young woman. She was garbed in a white dress divided into two parts below the waist, where she wore a blue-green sash, with thin straps over her shoulders, and under this she sported a black undershirt. Unlike him, she wore plain brown sandals, and around her head was a simple silver circlet. She wore a silver necklace, anklet, and bracelet on her right upper arm and wrist. On her right hand, she had a black, fingerless glove that reached over her lower arm, and on the left was a pale blue-green one of the same style.

Her long, dark green hair fluttered gently as it reached down past her knees, and her bright green eyes sparkled with a light he immediately recognized, though disbelief kept him from accepting who and what was before him now. She smiled, her features soft.

"You really shouldn't gape like that, Pit," she teased gently. "It's undignified." He swallowed, and it took him several moments before he finally managed to speak.

"L-Lady… Palutena?" He wondered cautiously. Her smile brightened, and she nodded. "Lady Palutena!" he repeated, feeling his own smile spread across his face. "B-But… you… how?"

"Pit, let me thank you," she began, silencing him. "You upheld my wishes and defeated Nemo. You brought back the Balance that governs our world, and you've sworn to protect it."

"Of course," he replied. "And I always will. But… what's going on? Y-you…" his throat tightened at the thought of what was, up until this moment, his reality.

"Pit, you know what happened as well as I do. I couldn't survive after what Nemo had done to my soul. My spirit became a part of yours." She rested her hands on his shoulders, and her touch felt warm. Alive. "And now, as I'm sure you don't need reminding, you have taken my place. You are now the god of Light." He nodded slowly. "But… Pit, you are young, both physically and as a god. Inexperienced. Naïve. Because of that, you need guidance on how to use your new power and knowledge to its fullest extent, not only in battle, but overall and every day as a ruler, guide, and guardian." He blinked as he pondered her words. "And so, Pit, in this realm of dreams, it is my duty and honor to teach you, until you have truly mastered what it means to be the god of Light."

"So… wait. This… this is all a dream?" he wondered, glancing around the marble room once again.

"Yes."

"And…" he suddenly brightened. "I'll see you here, while you teach me?" She nodded. "Lady Palutena… thank you."

"Don't thank me, Pit," she insisted. "It has to be done. However," she chuckled a bit.

"What is it?"

"Your lessons will begin at a later date. I want you to be able to think about this a bit before we get started. Understand?"

"I understand," he confirmed, eager at this revelation of his subconscious.

"So, for now…" she withdrew her hands from his shoulders. "You 're going to meet with the Centurions come morning, right?"

"Ah, right," he recalled. "For the first time since before Hades attacked. What about it?"

"Well… Your tunic is getting a bit tattered from all the trouble it's seen recently, right?" He thought it over, then nodded as he realized the truth of her words. "You need something more befitting a god. Wouldn't you agree?"

"I… guess?" he blinked. "I've never been very good at fashion."

"I know that," she laughed. "Don't worry, Pit. Just… tell you what. When you're preparing for your meeting, just take your staff-" something about her calling it his made him feel awkward, "and focus on your clothing. I'm sure something will come up that'll fit a bit more, while hopefully remaining functional." He nodded.

"I'm not going to have to wear a dress and a bunch of ornaments, right?" he joked, and she laughed as she shook her head.

"I doubt that's what you'll have in mind. But you'll see what I mean when you try it, okay?"

"Okay," he dipped his head. "Thanks, Lady Palutena." She was silent for a moment.

"Now then… it's time for you to return to your world," she told him softly, and continued before he had a chance to protest. "Don't worry. We'll meet again soon: I promise."

"B-But… Lady Palutena! No!"

Despite his arguing, Pit found himself opening his eyes and looking at the wall of the chamber he now called his own somewhere in Palutena's –his- temple up in Skyworld. He and Kuro had returned as the sun was setting, but both avoided any contact with the newly revived Centurions and instead had gone straight to the temple itself. Pit had been entirely too exhausted to deal with the confusion, and he figured it'd just be easier to meet with all of them at once as their new ruler. Once he'd reached the chamber that had once been Palutena's, he'd quickly fallen asleep.

A new wave of grief hit him as his mind processed again that she really was gone, that his meeting her was only a dream, just as she had said. He found streaks of water on his cheeks and quickly wiped them away.

"Hey, Pit!" Kuro's muffled voice sounded from outside the chamber's closed doors. "You awake yet?"

"Y-yeah," the blue-eyed angel replied and got himself to his feet. "I'll be out in a moment."

"All right. I just sent a messenger out to gather everyone in the plaza. So, no real hurry, but don't dawdle too much."

"Okay. Thank you." He put his face in his hands for a moment before brushing his brown bangs out of his eyes and glanced around the room briefly, his gaze sweeping over a lone mirror on the wall as he recalled what Palutena had told him. After a moment's hesitation, he summoned his staff and flipped it once in his hand, a soft blue light illuminating from its orb as he focused, as instructed, on his outfit. He thrust it down to the ground and a bright light enveloped him, blinding him momentarily before it died down, and he looked himself over briefly as he walked over to the mirror and checked his reflection. He couldn't suppress a pleasantly surprised smile.

He now wore a white garment that passed over his right shoulder, clasped by the usual red gem set in a gold base, and the hem of it reached down to the bottoms of his knees. A brown stitching ran parallel to its edge and a symbol greatly resembling that of Palutena was featured in a blue-green hue in the corner of the cloth. Under this, he wore another white cloth with a gold and brown design on the edge like the one of his original tunic he had worn five years previous, and around his waist was a brown, gold-edged belt tied to the side and a buckle of sorts sporting a symbol like the one on the bottom of his new tunic. Underneath, he wore his usual-styled dark navy shorts and undershirt, and he had a glove of the same color on his left hand that connected between his index and middle fingers.

He still wore sandals, but this new design featured crossing straps that connected around his ankle, and under the right one he had a white cloth- the resemblance it had to the one he had in his dream startled him. On both shoulders he had a light guard colored similarly to the Orichalcum Armor, but these now featured a blue gem on each guard that made up the tip reaching down toward his biceps. On each upper arm he had a thin gold bracelet, and the left one sported a red gem. On his left wrist, reaching up past his elbow, was another piece of armor that left enough room for him to bend his arm comfortably and without interference. A similar brace was on his right forearm, but it cut off before his elbow, and both were colored like his shoulder guards.

His laurel crown extended further around his head now, curving down and around at the ends, and on each side dangled a string of two long but thin golden leaves that nearly got lost among his brown locks of hair. With his staff held loosely in his right hand, he could barely believe he was looking at his own reflection. This person in the mirror looked like a god. His struggle to come to terms with his new reality became even harder as his gaze came to the reflection of his eyes for the first time since Palutena had passed her power to him. Nemo was right: The light he saw hadn't been there before.

"Whoo… okay…" he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "That really is you, Pit. And it always will be. Now, let's go see your new subjects. Or whatever." He blinked as he realized he was talking to himself. Again. "Alright, I'm not starting that again," he told himself and rotated his shoulders quickly. He turned, glanced over his shoulder and gave his reflection an approving look, and walked over to the door before heading out into the hall.

"There you- Wow," Kuro remarked as he turned to his emerging twin.

"'Wow' what?" Pit inquired lightly.

"Where did you get that look?" Kuro wondered. "I mean, it looks good- very fitting. And surprisingly comfortable. I'm just wondering where it came from."

"I dunno," Pit shrugged. "I just… needed a change, and this is what I got out of it. Gotta look the part, right?" Kuro chuckled and nodded.

"Guess so, Lord Pit." He smiled as Pit shoved him.

"And what about you, Commander Kuro?" he wondered, grinning.

"I figure this is fine," Kuro gestured quickly to his choice of outfit, the same as before the whole situation Nemo had caused began. "I mean, Captain to Commander isn't that big a deal compared to Commander to god of Light."

"I guess," Pit agreed. "And I just hope that's one promotion you never obtain."

"Me too, Pit," Kuro laughed. "Me too. I've gotten kinda fond of having you around, much as you are a bit of a dork."

"And proud of it," Pit's grin grew. "Anyway. I guess we should go see those crazy followers of ours, huh?" Kuro nodded and the companions made their way through the halls of the temple to the main corridor.

"We've both come a long way, haven't we?" Pit thought aloud as they walked toward the main doors.

"Don't be going all sentimental on me," Kuro jokingly groaned.

"No, really! I mean it," Pit insisted. "I mean… especially when you consider our first encounter."

"Yeah, seriously, no stealing my moves," Kuro smirked. "And… sorry about that."

"Eh," Pit shrugged. "Things were different back then."

"Yep. Back when I had my oh-so-foreboding dark wings, things didn't really make a whole lot of sense to me. Was I supposed to kill you? Outshine you? Disappear? Be your ally?"

"Guess so," Pit nodded.

"Nah, none of the above," Kuro chuckled.

"Huh?"

"Maybe this is me getting all sentimental, but I think I was always meant to become your brother." He paused and smiled. "Now, let's get moving before I say anything else that cheesy." Pit laughed as they reached the doors and he took a deep breath, regaining his composure as Kuro grabbed the handle.

"So, you ready?" Kuro wondered and smiled, and Pit nodded. The newly named Commander opened the door, letting in the bright light of the great floating islets they called home. Once outside, Pit spread his wings and took to the air with Kuro following close behind, and the two made their way out to the central plaza of Skyworld.


	15. Chapter XV: Announcement

As he soared through the winds that passed around Skyworld, Pit felt relief hit him as he scanned over his home. Finally, he could take in the pure joy of flight without worrying about what ominous and destructive creature was lurking in the darkest recesses of their world. His mood brightened as he heard the dull roar of voices coming from the crowds of Centurions gathered in the central plaza of Skyworld. The last time they'd assembled there, Palutena had granted Kuro his white wings and officially changed his name. This time, Pit pondered, something even bigger had changed.

He took a deep breath, suddenly choked with doubt. The Centurions never questioned him as their Captain or Commander. But, he realized they didn't even know for sure that Palutena was gone. Would they accept him as her successor and their new leader? He was, he couldn't help but recall, at least partially responsible for her fade from existence. Much as he hated to admit it, Nemo had a point in their battle, though he couldn't be certain of the outcomes possible if he'd left her in the Dark Oracle's grasp.

"Whatever's eating you, just let it go," Kuro advised as if he'd read Pit's mind. "They know how loyal you are to Lady Palutena. They really can't question her choice."

"Maybe…" he replied glumly.

"Come on," Kuro groaned lightheartedly. "Cheer up. You'll worry 'em if you're so gloomy. That's my job, remember?" That remark brought a smile back to Pit's face.

"Not as much as you used to make it," he teased. "Of course, now that I think about it, I'd probably be pretty down in the dumps if everyone kept calling me 'Pittoo' all the time."

"If we weren't in the air right now, I'd be chucking a rock at your face," Kuro stared at him, though humor played in his eyes, and Pit laughed.

"Energy Shield plus all these other crazy abilities I've got," he challenged. "It'd never even hit me."

"Right, about that. Did it recharge or whatever? Does it still work?"

"Yeah," Pit nodded. "I mean, I haven't checked, but I can just tell. It's got a stronger vibe to it now than it did before."

"I see," Kuro acknowledged as they prepared to land in the central platform of the plaza. Almost immediately, Pit heard voices announcing their arrival.

"There they are!"

"Commander! Captain! Welcome home!"

"Thank the goddess they're okay."

"I bet they showed Hades who's boss!" Pit blinked as he processed everything. The gathered denizens of Skyworld weren't even remotely aware of any possibility of something befalling their beloved goddess, nor regarding the angels' new roles. It hadn't occurred to him that they didn't even know that Nemo had been behind everything. They assumed it had been Hades the entire time, as word had gotten out that the original lord of the Underworld had gotten free.

"Do we tell them? About Nemo," Kuro wondered, and Pit shook his head.

"Not unless we absolutely have to. I want to keep this as simple as possible, and that already won't be easy with me having to explain what happened to Lady Palutena…" Kuro nodded, signaling his understanding, and the two dropped down into the plaza. Just as Pit's feet touched the ground, cheers erupted from the gathered Centurions, and he heard mumblings start to circulate regarding his new wardrobe. He was well aware they weren't exactly the brightest bunch, but he could sense that at least some of them were starting to realize not all was as good as they hoped. He took a deep breath and raised his hand high in a request for silence, and the gathered Skyworld citizens quickly complied. Unfortunately, he found that he'd been wrong in thinking he'd gathered his thoughts into a coherent state to address them.

A couple of encouraging words mumbled from the red-eyed angel at his side brought back his confidence, even if only a little, and he scanned the gathered Centurions as he straightened his posture. Finally, as anticipation gripped the air like Hades when he caught the Great Sacred Treasure, he spoke.

"I can't tell you all how relieved I am to see that everyone's okay," he began as he tried to recollect his thoughts. "I won't bore you with the lengthy story of our victory. But I can assure you that Kuro and I have reestablished the peace of our world, and we won't have to worry about the Underworld for a LONG time."

"Or so we hope," Kuro added under his breath as the Centurions cheered, and Pit snorted in amusement before he turned serious again.

"But… our victory wasn't without loss," he continued, silencing his audience. "Lady Palutena was captured by Underworld forces," technically true, "and…" he shook his head slowly. "In a way, her memory was rewritten and she was forced to challenge us." He paused as a soft gasp rippled through the Centurions. "I knew Lady Palutena would want the Balance of life and death, which the Underworld was threatening to tip permanently, to be protected above all else. As her Commander, I had to comply with that wish." Again, he paused and took another breath. "With some… careful planning, Kuro and I managed to release her soul from the Underworld's grip and escape with it… but…" he swallowed the tightening in his throat, directing every ounce of willpower he had not to break down in grief. Again.

"Because of everything that had happened, Lady Palutena's soul was severely damaged and fading quickly. She… as you may be guessing now, there wasn't anything we could do. Lady Palutena won't be returning to Skyworld." Shocked silence gripped the air, but it rang in Pit's ears loud and clear. "Before she passed, though… she named me her successor and passed her power as the goddess of Light to me." He raised his hand again and summoned his staff in a bright light, and again a soft gasp rippled through the audience. "And so, with Lady Palutena's blessing and the victory against the one who took her from us, I come to you now as the new god of Light and ruler of Skyworld." Again, he paused. "I hope you'll come to accept me as a leader, guide, and guardian." He swallowed the grief and doubt choking him as silence continued to reign.

Then, after several drawn-out moments, a voice from somewhere in the crowd broke through.

"All hail Lord Pit!" He blinked, again stunned by the title. Several other voices joined the first, and the call became loud enough to echo through the heavens with cheers and applause.

"All hail Lord Pit!"

"Hail the god of Light!"

"Lord Pit!" Despite his fears, he couldn't help but smile, and Kuro rested his hand on his twin's shoulder.

"Told you. You didn't have anything to worry about." Pit nodded to him and raised his hand again in a request for silence, and the calls died down.

"T-Thank you, all of you. I know I'm not really ready to take on this role, and by no means can I ever replace Lady Palutena… but I'll do the best I can and you can trust me to defend Skyworld just as I always have, if not even more. Speaking of which…" he motioned for Kuro to step forward, and the black-haired angel hesitantly complied. "Meet your new Commander, everyone. Trust me, he's not as nice as I am!" He grinned. "And listen up, everyone. Though the threats to the peace may have passed for now, things around here need to change. Come on, guys. Toughen up, even a little bit?"

"If you don't, you answer directly to me now," Kuro pointed out, though his threat was obviously empty. "You're going to need to toughen up just to deal with me." Uneasy laughter sounded softly from the audience, and Pit shook his head in amusement. "But, I'll try to be fair as your Commander. Because I really don't want to tick off our new ruler over here."

"Commander Kuro!" several voices called. "Commander Kuro! Lord Pit!"

"The greatest champions Skyworld has ever seen!"

"Skyworld's heroes!" The angelic duo exchanged a bemused but content glance.

"There's one more thing, though," Pit continued, causing silence to take over again. "Lady Palutena told me just before she bestowed her power to me that her time had come to an end and mine was to begin. But… I want her legacy to come to a real end, not just a sudden stop. So… I'm asking that we all take the time to say goodbye to our goddess before we really move on." Again, silence gripped the air, though it had a different feeling to it.

Though he wished he didn't have to, Pit broke it and spoke up again. "Alright… I'll let you all go as you please, do what you want. But be sure Kuro and I will be working out a schedule of training and watch duty within a few days." He smiled softly. "And, please… don't be intimidated by me. If you need something, feel free to come talk to me about it. I want to lead at your side, not above you." Cheers of agreement sounded. "Alright then. Well, get going! Find some useful way to spend your time!" He heard several answers of "Yes, Lord Pit!" or "Right away, sir!" and "Whatever you say!" scattered around the plaza as the Centurions dispersed. Pit shut his eyes and raised his head, taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

"Well, that seemed like it went well," Kuro noted.

"Yeah," Pit agreed lightly, not bothering to open his eyes. "But hey, they're pretty simple people. Guess I proved myself to them already. Or they just don't bother questioning things when stuff happens."

"Well, the incident with the Chaos Kin told me that, though I hate to bring it up," Kuro pointed out.

"That was a headache more than anything when it came to the Centurions," Pit explained. "They didn't know what was going on and they didn't really have a place questioning Lady Palutena. They train and are taught to follow her unconditionally. Us angels are allowed to question her, but… not to be mean, but I think we run at a slightly higher functioning. If anything, I was impressed that their loyalty remained that strong, that they'd even attack me at her order."

"What's with you?" Kuro inquired. "I thought you'd be all over that, groaning about how they annoyed you so much and how tough it was fighting your own soldiers." Pit opened his eyes and turned his gaze toward his twin.

"Things… change, Kuro," he replied solemnly. "I feel like I see things differently now. Including the Centurions. It really was loyalty. I just wish they'd questioned things a little more."

"Well," Kuro mumbled, "Don't change too much on me now, Pit. I've kind of gotten used to how much of a goof and a dork you are." Pit smiled and shoved him briefly.

"Don't worry about it. I'm still Pit. Always will be at heart. Anyway…" He turned back toward Palutena's –his- temple. "Wanna go check on Vis and Viridi?"

"I'd pay big time to see their little reunion," Kuro grinned. "Yeah. Let's go." They both took to the air again, heading quickly back to the temple. "At least we've got a gate we can use this time."

"No kidding," Pit agreed with a warm smile on his face.


	16. Chapter XVI: As it Should Be

Between Pit's ability to use Skyworld's gate and the Power of Flight itself, the angels reached Viridi's temple within a few minutes. Several Nutskis, the original forms Viridi had created before Vis had intervened, patrolled outside, but they made no move to stop the newcomers as they approached.

"Wait, we're here already?" Kuro joked as they neared the entrance. "Huh. Well, those Nutskis either mean Nemo already reformed them or Viridi is back in power."

"Shall we go find out?" Pit wondered, and Kuro turned toward him and nodded, grinning.

"Oh, good. More visitors!" the laughter threw Pit off as he tried to place the voice. "You'd best hurry, angels. You're missing the good part."

"Was that… Nemo?" Kuro wondered.

"Guess we'll find out," Pit replied, and the two landed in the temple a moment later as he cut off the Power of Flight. It wasn't long until he could hear Viridi's voice. Loudly.

"You think you can just waltz in here and take over? You're an ORACLE! YOU SERVE ME, do you understand?" As they came deeper into the temple, they found the goddess of Nature, face red with anger, chewing a reverted Vis out to the point that even Pit almost felt sorry for him. Almost.

Vis himself had changed, outfit wise, and now wore a simple, dark green, sleeveless tunic belted at the waist over dark brown pants and plain boots. Over his shoulder was a strap bearing an insignia of wind, similar to the ones that Levica and Unda both had. He sighed, obviously trying to bear Viridi's ranting as best he could without doing anything to further enrage her.

He scanned the room and saw two other figures, both seemingly human, standing back and watching the spectacle. One he immediately recognized as Unda, the Oracle of Water, but the other he didn't recognize. This other spectator appeared as a young man, his dark blond hair streaked yellow, orange, and red in one place. He wore a pale red tunic with one sleeve that led to his bandaged right hand, his left arm completely bare. He wore dark brown pants as well, the right leg tucked into his boot and the left pulled over the other. His dark orange eyes were bright, almost burning, as he watched the exchange, and he smiled. Over his shoulder was a strap, like the others, bearing an insignia of fire.

_So, that's Onore, huh?_ Pit realized. _Glad he's okay._

"The only reason I'm not destroying you right here and now is your power," Viridi went on, sighing heavily. "Only because you're an Oracle. DON'T forget it!"

"Yes, Mistress Viridi," he mumbled.

"I didn't say you could speak!" she yelled. "If you EVER try something like that again, I don't care what it takes: I am REWRITING you. I will find a way. And you can say goodbye to any level of coherent thought." She paused, glaring at him. "So, are you going to behave?"

"Yes, Mistress Viridi," he repeated.

"What is your place in this world?"

"I'm the Oracle of Winds charged with defending the Balance and keeping overall peace," he replied.

"And will you EVER do anything to change that place?"

"No, Mistress Viridi."

"And what about the humans? Will you do anything to influence their fate?"

"No, Mistress Viridi. I'll leave the humans to the gods."

"Good. She turned toward the shadows in the corner of the room, and Pit followed her gaze to find a figure standing in them. "As for you, you're lucky you're not one of my Oracles, or you'd be getting it even worse than he is," she pointed at Vis, "right now. So, you want to stop lurking and join us out here?"

Nemo chuckled a bit as he emerged into the light, unchanged from the last time Pit had seen him- save the fact that he wasn't ready for a fight. He had gone back to his usual demeanor, soft, even unreadable, and hard to believe that this was the being that had destroyed Hades, nearly killed Pit, and almost succeeded in rewriting existence.

"Honestly. I never thought that you Oracles would rebel like this. Did you really forget your places?" Viridi continued.

"Hey, Mistress Viridi," Unda spoke up. "We did our best. They're the ones that-"

"I know," Viridi sighed. "But seriously. Nemo, you'd better not get any other ideas like that. Maybe we can't restore Hades, but if you ever try to-"

"Don't worry," Nemo interrupted. "Trust me on this if nothing else, Viridi. Going back to my original intentions would, unfortunately, violate the agreement I made with Pit. So, in the ultimate interest of keeping the Balance and seeing if he can come through on his end, I'll be staying back for now."

"Wait. What do you mean 'with Pit?' He doesn't have the authority to decide things like that!"

"Are you sure about that?" Kuro spoke up, and the goddess of Nature jumped in surprise before turning, wide-eyed, to Skyworld's representatives.

"Gah! Pit! Kuro! How long have you been there?" Pit smirked.

"Since you started ranting about how Vis is an Oracle and nothing else," he replied bluntly, and Vis stared at him, annoyance in his eyes. Pit just grinned at him, then turned his attention back to Viridi. "We wanted to see how you were doing and whether Nemo really kept his full bargain."

"And, as you can see, I did," Nemo dipped his head. "Here she is: The goddess of Nature, in full health and power, just as she was before."

"Don't get smart with me!" Viridi growled at him. "But… alright, Pit. I'm in a really bad mood right now. So, what are you doing here?"

"Like I said: We wanted to see how you were doing," he replied. "And, since Nemo is here as well, it seems we have all three sides present. I'm gonna guess he hasn't told you?"

"Told me what?" she demanded.

"No, I figured you'd want to explain that," Nemo shook his head. "It wouldn't be fair of me to take away your surprise, right?"

"Okay…" Viridi frowned. "What's going on? Pit, what the heck is with your get-up?" He met her gaze, his own level, and his smile faded.

"Viridi, goddess of Nature," he began, and she seemed caught off guard. "Allow me to introduce myself as Pit, the god of Light." She stared at him.

"W-What do you mean, 'the god of Light?" she finally inquired, and Pit summoned his staff to confirm his claim.

"Lady Palutena… her soul was pretty heavily damaged among the fighting with us trying to stop the extremist visionary over there," he tilted his head toward Nemo for a moment, "And after I managed to retrieve her from him, she told me she wasn't going to survive… Viridi, it killed me inside, but I had to agree when she named me her successor. I don't want to be this way, but the world needs Light. And SOMEone has to step up for the humans when both the lord of the Underworld and the goddess of Nature want them dead." After processing what he'd explained, Viridi nodded slowly.

"That makes sense… So, she passed on her power to you and… let me guess: her spirit has become a part of yours." He nodded. "It's a shame that she had to go to such lengths. But…" she shrugged. "I hate to admit it, but I can't think of anyone better for replacing her. I'd much rather you than him," she pointed at Nemo, "having her power." She paused. "But DON'T think you can just butt into everything and attack whenever we're doing something you don't like!"

"I know, Viridi," he smiled. "I've got my own realm to look after. Plus, I'm still stuck with the fact that the only competent fighter I've got is Kuro."

"And yet, you still managed to beat Medusa, Hades, and me," Nemo pointed out. "You at the head and Kuro as your Commander is all Skyworld needs. I fear the force that causes you to need anyone else."

"Hey, don't think you can get away from this with flattery," Viridi told him flatly. "You're still in trouble."

"My ruling goddess was destroyed," He replied bluntly. "You don't really have any authority over me. Especially since I'm also the lord of the Underworld. And anyway, I'm not trying to. I'm just stating fact. Pit defeated me- I respect that. And he managed to do it in a way that focused on his own survival along with keeping the Balance in check. That impressed me."

"I still don't like you," Pit replied shortly.

"I know you don't," Nemo chuckled. "It'll probably take an eternity and a half for you to even consider liking me at all. But, even if you, as you put it, don't like me, I hope you and I can still be allies in defending the Balance of light and dark, life and death." He held out his hand, and Pit stared at it for several drawn out moments before hesitantly taking it and shaking it for a moment.

"For the Balance," he confirmed.

"Speaking of which," a voice spoke up that Pit didn't recognize, and he turned to find Onore as its source. "Master Pit, it's an honor to finally meet you, and I have to thank you for defeating the psychopath there. Sorry about the whole fire against your wings thing."

"It's fine," Pit replied. "So, you're the Oracle of Fire- Onore, right?" Onore grinned and nodded.

"The one and only," he shrugged. "So… we've got the three of us Nature-based Oracles and Nemo. Where's Levica?"

"Oop." Pit hung his head as realization hit him. "I kinda forgot about that. Uh… okay. This should be interesting…" He lifted his staff and shut his eyes, focusing on the Spirit he'd pulled from Nemo before. With a deep breath, he quickly brought the staff down before thrusting it skyward, and a blinding flash of light emitted from it as he felt something in his power pull away.

Moments later, as the light died down, a feminine, human-shaped, flame-like glow emerged and watched the new god of Light with a soft gaze.

"Thank you, Lord Pit," Levica's voice echoed from the Spirit in front of him. "For freeing my soul and for restoring me." She bowed. "You have my full allegiance, dear god of Light. I am yours to command."

"Um… thank you?" He blinked, unsure of how to reply. "Uh… you're free to do as you will, I guess. Do… what will you do?" She didn't reply for a moment.

"I… believe I will remain in this form for a time," she answered. "And, if milord so allows it, I would like to return to Skyworld later."

"That'd be fine," Pit smiled. "You'll always have a place there, Levica. I promise." She smiled and, after a moment, faded out of sight, and silence reigned for a while.

"Okay, I guess that's everything," Onore broke the silence. "Thank you, Master Pit."

"Just doing my job," Pit replied. "Anyway. Viridi, Nemo, I need to be getting home. I've got a lot to do, you know?" Nemo nodded and Viridi rolled her eyes.

"Just don't screw anything up too much," she told him with gentle sarcasm in her voice.

"What, I can do worse than you all already have?" he laughed. "I doubt it. Now, if you'll excuse me…"

"Wait… what? No! You get back here!" she demanded as he hurried back toward the entrance of her temple with Kuro on his heels.

"We'd better hurry," the black-haired angel chuckled. "I think you awakened a monster, Pit. Don't want to face its wrath!"

"No, thank you!" Pit agreed as they took flight.

"Hey!" Viridi's voice followed them. "You can't just- What do you- Errgh…" With that, the angels exchanged an amused glance as they headed back to Skyworld, and both started laughing uncontrollably.


	17. Chapter XVII: Moving Forward

As he soared above, passing through the clouds and the sun sparkling on his spread wings, Pit smiled. He scanned the Overworld below him, passing over several villages the humans had built. Finally, they were bustling with activity, life everywhere he looked. The humans went on with their lives, rather unaffected by everything Hades had done, herding their livestock as birds joined the angel in the air. Nemo really had followed up on his word: Everything was as it should be to the extent he could return it.

He dropped his altitude slightly as he approached the town where he'd encountered Magnus and Gaol on different occasions. If there was anyone he wanted to be sure was safe, it was either of them. Unfortunately, he sighed, he knew going and seeing them face to face would cause an uproar, and he didn't know whether and how much Nemo had wiped their memories.

So, instead, he glided over the town as his eyes swept through it, half-hoping no one would look up at him. It wasn't long before he saw a now-familiar face exiting the temple that formerly stood for Palutena.

"Does… that mean it's dedicated to me now?" he thought aloud, but shook his head and refocused on what he recognized to be Gaol below. Though he couldn't be sure from so far away, she seemed confused, even saddened by something: but what, he had no idea. He took a risk and dropped down a bit further, circling around with his wings spread wide, but still found no hint as to why she was so distracted.

Pit felt himself perk up a bit as the burly and dark figure of Magnus approached her, but neither of them spoke. Gaol merely looked up at him, standing roughly a head shorter than him, and she reached up and rested her hand on his cheek and he nodded before they both turned and headed off into the streets of the town. The angel above debated with himself for a moment.

"I should probably leave them alone," he mumbled and headed up back into the clouds. He took a deep breath and focused his energy for a moment, and his wings emitted a bright light as he invoked his own Power of Flight. Within moments, he broke through the border between the Overworld and Skyworld, passing by the long-abandoned Skyworld Fortress and heading over the sea of clouds. The islets of his home came into view a short time later as he took a deep breath, losing himself in the pure joy of flight. He sighed and opened his eyes as he approached the islet and scanned the area.

"What the…?" he trailed off and held his left hand out, the bright yellow rings of light appearing around his wrist. Both rings moved down in front of his outstretched palm and they extended away in opposite directions, summoning the cobalt blue bow Palutena had given him over five years previous in a bright light. He brought his wrists together for a moment and the rings transferred over to his right arm, and his gaze zeroed in on a dark shape near the large Hot Spring on the edge of Skyworld's main territory. He took a breath and drew back an arrow, then let it fly. It travelled quickly and curved down, scoring his target and knocking it down.

The figure quickly scrambled to its feet and shot back a retaliation at Pit, a bright red arrow that the blue-eyed angel immediately recognized as he dodged it. He blinked and dove down toward the shore of the Hot Spring to find Kuro glaring at him.

"What was that for?" the red-eyed angel demanded.

"Sorry," Pit replied sheepishly. "I just… what's with the getup? I thought you got rid of that thing." Kuro had donned the tunic he'd once worn when he was created, the black, gold-trimmed drape that had contrasted Pit's white so strikingly. This seemed to be the only old thing he was wearing, as everything else was either his usual attire or a pair of boots he seemed to have scavenged from somewhere in Skyworld. The black tunic seemed out of place against his white wings. Kuro crossed his arms, the anger fading from his eyes to be replaced by reserved sorrow.

"I thought about it, but something stopped me," he explained. "I figured it may come in handy for some reason later on down the line. No sense letting it go to waste." He paused. "Plus, it's still got some weird sentimental value, you know?"

"I suppose," Pit nodded. "Okay, I can buy that. But why are you wearing it now?"

"Well, here's something you should probably know, _Lord_ Pit. I've noticed that some of the humans' cultures say that they wear black when mourning a loss." Pit processed exactly what he meant.

"So… for Lady Palutena…" he guessed, and Kuro dipped his head slowly.

"There may not be much I can do for her at this point," he shrugged, "other than keeping good on my word of keeping you relatively unharmed. But it doesn't help when you're firing on me."

"Sorry," Pit repeated. "I wasn't expecting a black-garbed someone up here in Skyworld."

"I get it," Kuro smirked. "It's been a while since you've seen someone like that."

"Only because the last one who was dressed like that found something more suiting," Pit pointed out, and Kuro's smirk became a soft smile. The black-haired angel raised his forearm and Pit braced his against it, and the two grabbed each others' hands briefly before dropping them.

"So, how were the humans?" Kuro wondered.

"Okay," Pit answered. "Nemo seems to have help his word. But… I checked up on Magnus and Gaol. Something seemed to be bothering them, but I didn't want to pry."

"Probably a good thing," Kuro agreed. "Let them be for now."

"Yeah… something tells me I'll be hearing Gaol's prayers sometime soon," Pit noted. "But… for now…" He turned back toward the main part of Skyworld, his eyes straying briefly to the statue of Palutena still standing above the temple.

"We've both got a lot ahead of us, huh?" Kuro remarked, and Pit nodded.

"Yep. I'm never going to get used to being a god. But I'll do the best I can."

"I know." Kuro shoved him gently. "But, though this is kind of out of character for me, but I think you'll do a pretty decent job." Pit turned to him and smiled a bit.

"Only because I have one heck of a Commander to back me up."

"And a brother, right?" That comment caused Pit's smile to blossom into a full grin.

"Yep. And that always comes first." He took flight with Kuro following his example, and both headed out toward the temple.


	18. Side Chapter I: Hades

Soft footsteps echoed off the rock walls of the cavern nestled deep in the darkest depths of the Underworld. It was rare that any life, no matter what form it was in, ever dared to approach it, and it had been virtually undisturbed for centuries. And so it had remained until about three years previous, when the goddess of Light had chosen to seal the lord of the Underworld deep within it, locking him and his power away and preventing him from continuing his unnatural harvest of souls from the Overworld. No one had heard even a peep from him since then, and why should they? He was locked tight, and breaking himself out was likely almost impossible.

So, instead, what appeared to be a young man continued on into the black shadows of the cavern. The darkness didn't bother him: rather, he felt at home within it. Much as he wished it didn't, light bothered him- it was the opposite of his natural element, and, though he'd learned to live with it, he couldn't overcome his adversity to it and its guardians. He was on decent terms with them, or so he thought, but he knew they were forever wary of him, and he could only wonder how much they worried about his possible actions since his master, the goddess of Darkness, had been destroyed.

This young man, perhaps even just a boy, had silver hair that partially masked his pale red eyes, his fair skin, his feminine face and build. He wore a dark blue scarf over a pale, gray-blue robe, dark leggings, and black boots. He wore a dark sash around his waist and a leather strap over his shoulder, under his scarf, that bore an insignia of darkness around his collarbone that identified him, just like the other four like him. He trod softly in the darkness, and it wasn't long until a pale light illuminated ahead of him. He came across its source, a box-like cage of energy containing a distorted shape of blacks, reds, greens, and purples.

The boy smiled a bit and approached the cage. He stopped about a foot away from it and shut his eyes, then took a deep breath and called upon the power he'd been created around. With a heave of his strength that left him exhausted and fighting to stay conscious, he broke through the seal on the cage, and it immediately dissipated. The distorted form contained within took a roughly humanoid shape as the lord of the Underworld emerged, stretching as he glanced around.

"Out already?" he remarked. "Oh, Palutena. You should have known such a trifling prison couldn't hold me for long." The boy regained his composure and straightened up, then cleared his throat loudly as Hades turned to him. "Oh? Who are you?" The boy opened his mouth to reply, but Hades interrupted him. "Wait, don't tell me. You have such a powerful soul, and I feel like I've seen you before. But where was it… Perhaps last New Year's party? No. I wasn't responsible for a mass homicide of your family, I think…" Hades braced his palm against his forehead, puzzled.

"Uh, Lord Hades," the boy prompted.

"No!" Hades interrupted again. "I'll figure this out. I have one heck of a memory, if I do say so myself. Hm…" He frowned as he studied the boy. "There's a darkness about you I wouldn't normally expect. And you have no sense of humor, do you? I can tell by your eyes. Lighten up!"

"I-"

"I'll get this!" Hades cut him off. "You can be sure of that. You're… ah!" Hades snapped his fingers. "You're Nemo! The Oracle of Darkness! You moved down here to my Underworld when Medusa was banished here. So sorry about your loss." Nemo didn't reply, but watched the lord of the Underworld with a steady gaze. "So, you helped me get out of that dreadful little trap, huh? Why?"

"To keep the Balance in check," Nemo replied casually. "You're the lord of the Underworld. Lady Palutena and Mistress Viridi had no right to imprison you. Who else will keep watch on the souls that come here?"

"You make a good point," Hades agreed proudly. "I think I like you, kid. But… you've got something else, don't you? Come on, what is it?"

"…Vengeance," Nemo lied. "Lady Palutena seems to think she can intervene in anything she wants, Mistress Viridi is out of control, and the humans… they're worthless."

"Hm…" Hades grinned maniacally. "I like your style, Nemo. So, what'll you do?"

"I'll leave that up to you, Lord Hades," Nemo replied. "I'm essentially a resident of the Underworld. I'm yours to command, as long as you focus on exterminating the humans."

"And that's quite a number of souls I can use," Hades nodded. "Excellent. Then that's what I'll do. I won't rest until I have command of every last soul in this world. Does that satisfy your lust for revenge?" Nemo dipped his head slowly. "Wonderful. Then let's find a place to set up shop, hm? I'm sure the City of Souls will do nicely." With that, the lord of the Underworld faded and went off to his destination.

Nemo smirked a bit and refocused his power.

"Thank you, Lord Hades," he mumbled. "Trusting fool. This will take time… but that time will be the last the humans of this world ever see. You won't be destroying the world and each other any longer." With that thought, he transformed into a dark Spirit form, resembling a black flame, and sped off toward the City of Souls in pursuit of his newest playing piece.


	19. Side Chapter II: Kuro in the Underworld

"And just where are we going?" Kuro wondered as he crossed his arms, holding his bow loosely. He had half a mind to remind Viridi that he and Pit were doing her a favor, not becoming her personal servants.

"You're going after either Vis or Unda," Viridi replied.

"Or both," Pit suggested, and Kuro turned to him, confused. "I mean," the blue-eyed angel continued, "Why waste time? Kuro and I can handle ourselves. So I'll find Unda, and you can find Vis." Kuro nodded.

"That makes sense," he agreed. "Alright. So, where are we going?" Viridi closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Unda took shelter in a cavern near one of the great springs. It's out in the middle of a forest. As for Vis… he's in the mountains." She opened her eyes and smiled teasingly. "Kuro, you'd better be glad you can fly. It's hard to get around up there on foot." He nodded again, smirking a bit. Viridi had a way of irking him, but what did it matter? The sooner they found the Oracles, the sooner he could head back to Skyworld and smack a few Centurions around. "Okay," Viridi went on. "Pit, I'll send you out first, then you, Kuro. Ready?"

"Of course," Pit smiled. "I bet I can find Unda faster than you can find Vis."

"You're on," Kuro accepted the challenge and shoved his twin playfully, and Pit laughed as he approached the gate. "See you when you get back."

"On it," Pit grinned as the gate opened, and he leapt out into the air just as it closed again.

"I'll… be honest," Viridi sighed, and Kuro groaned inwardly.

"What is it?" he inquired.

"I don't know exactly where he is. He's probably around the peaks, like I've told you before. But he doesn't really like company, so he hid himself really well. But, if you explain the situation, he'll probably understand."

"'Probably?'" he repeated.

"Yeah…" she admitted. "Sorry. But good luck." He sighed heavily and headed for the gate.

"Fine," he grumbled. "Let's just get this over with." She nodded and the gate opened again, and he wasted no time in heading out. He emerged a short distance away from the mountains themselves and set himself into a glide, scanning the area around him.

"That forest over there is where Unda is," Viridi's voice echoed in his head, and he turned to look south. As she'd said, a large, dense forest dotted the landscape a far cry away.

"So, that's where Pit is headed, huh?" he replied.

"Yep," Viridi confirmed.

"Huh," he turned his attention back to the approaching mountains. "So… explain to me something."

"What?"

"The Oracles were Spirits, right? And you said they help maintain the Balance. So, they must be pretty close to you gods."

"Yes, what's your point?" Viridi sounded like she was quickly getting annoyed, but he was far from caring.

"They hid themselves as humans to avoid stuff like war and competition over their power," he continued.

"Yes…?"

"So, they knew since essentially when humans first showed up on the planet that wars between the gods would cause catastrophe. And it's not just one side: Lady Palutena has Levica, you have your three, and Medusa had Nemo. And yet, despite them taking such extreme measures to help avoid war, you still keep fighting over the stupidest things!"

"What do you mean 'stupidest things?'" Viridi demanded. "You know Palutena and I both have been fighting to keep Hades from his relentless harvesting. We're trying to protect the natural order of things!"

"Even though you're still ready to destroy the humans, even though you gods aren't any better. You're sick of them fighting? So you need to quit your idiotic conflicts!" the black-haired angel shot back. "Practice what you preach. Otherwise, you've got no room to criticize them or anyone else."

"Jeez. Just because your wings have changed doesn't mean your heart has, huh? You're still a rude little nothing! You don't get it!" the goddess argued.

"No, YOU don't get it!" Kuro growled. "You listen to me, Viridi. I swore loyalty to Lady Palutena, but only because she actually has the best interest of the world as her top priority. She doesn't overstep her boundaries unless absolutely necessary, nor does she slaughter hundreds of humans at once because she just doesn't like them! You know I lived by my own rules for several years- did what I wanted. That gave me the viewpoint even Pit could never get. I got to see everything from outside the combat without some biased loyalty. Hades was about to throw everything off. You won't give the humans a chance to learn- you just want them exterminated. Medusa toyed with her power and the humans, tormenting them. Lady Palutena is the only one keeping everything in line!"

"You little-"

"I'm not done yet," he interrupted. "Lady Palutena has dealt with you, Hades, Medusa, the Chaos Kin, the Aurum… Pit and I have fought them all. We can't ever get a break because none of the rest of you can control yourselves! Someone has to police everything, because if you all did whatever you wanted, everything would fall apart almost instantly."

"Why you…" Kuro wasn't quite sure if she couldn't come up with a response or if she was just too irritated to reply. "Calling you an insect would be putting them down. Mind your own business!"

"It IS my business when your petty conflicts keep getting me and my brother roped into this fighting," he pointed out harshly as he came across the mountains. "It's our business when we have to go play retrieval because you gods can't just stay in your own territories and do what you're supposed to!"

"This is because of Hades!" Viridi replied defensively.

"Yes, but you're guilty of the same thing." He sighed heavily. "Look, you're hopeless. I'm done trying to convince you if you won't listen to me." He landed on a cliff-side, fuming, and waited there for a moment for a remark from the goddess of Nature, but it never came. After a few more moments, he sighed again. "Guess I ticked her off enough that she's giving me the silent treatment. Whatever…" he shook his head. "I can find Vis myself." He stretched his arms and wings before he traced around the edge of the cliff and emerged on the other side of the mountain.

What he found there was far from anything he expected.

"Who are you?" he demanded of the silver-haired, pale-red-eyed boy standing near the cliff's edge. "How… how did a human manage to get up here?" he wondered, more to himself than the boy.

"That's the thing," The boy pointed to the insignia clasped to the strap running over his shoulder. Kuro didn't recognize the symbol, but quickly processed that… "I'm not human, as you may be guessing. Now, judging from your face, your eyes, your hair… you're Dark Pit, aren't you?" At once, Kuro pulled his bow apart as hostility burned to life in him.

"Where do you get off calling me that?" he growled. "My name is Kuro, understand?"

"My apologies," the boy dipped his head. "I wasn't aware you'd gained a true name- Other than 'Pittoo,' but I know you hate being called that," he added before Kuro had a chance to stab him. "'Kuro' suits you much better. Originating from an eastern language and meaning 'dark' or 'black,' right?" Kuro nodded slowly. "'Dark,' for your original self, and 'black' simply because of your hair." The boy chuckled a bit.

"Okay," Kuro pieced his bow back together and massaged his forehead with his free hand. "Do you want something, or are you just going to lecture me about a bunch of pointless things I already know about my name?"

"Again, my apologies," the boy continued. "Allow me to introduce myself: I am Nemo, the Oracle of Darkness." Any sarcastic or snappy comeback the angel may have had drowned in his shock and confusion. "Listen… I know Pit wouldn't even give me a chance to explain, but he thinks with his heart. You think with your head, right?"

"Right…" Kuro replied cautiously.

"I have a proposition for you- please, hear me out before you decide anything." Kuro nodded, though he was intensely reserved about whatever this Oracle had to say. "I'll tell you this: As you may or may not know, I am serving under Lord Hades." Distrust immediately shot through the angel.

"Why the heck would you just tell me that outright?" Kuro inquired.

"Because there really is no way for me to avoid it," Nemo answered. "I have no desire to deceive you. Is there a point in beating around the bush, so to speak?" For that, the angel had no answer. "Listen to me, Kuro. You serve Lady Palutena- I'm not asking. I already know that. But if you continue to do so, you're securing your own demise, along with hers and Pit's. I'm not trying to scare you- everything I'm saying to you now is true. Lord Hades is planning something that even your goddess can't defend herself from." Kuro scanned Nemo's eyes, his body language, his tone, but could find nothing suggesting he was lying or exaggerating. Either this Oracle was a superb player, or…

"I know Pit would never believe me or consider my offer: but again, he thinks with his heart. You think with your head," Nemo continued. "So, if you want to survive, then I'm offering you the chance to do what you believe is in your best interests. If you stay with Lady Palutena, then you have no hope and you can bid your life, and Pit's, farewell." Kuro figured he was implying something, but couldn't figure out what. "But, if you come with me back to the Underworld and join Lord Hades, then you'll live."

_And, if I live, then even if something happens to Pit, I can bring him back,_ Kuro realized, praying Nemo couldn't somehow read his mind and recalling when he'd temporarily lost his own soul and Pit had retrieved it, reviving him before they challenged Hades. _The only thing out there that matches me in combat is Pit himself, and I can fly. Whatever Hades throws at me, I can handle it… _ he swallowed. _As long as this guy doesn't immediately figure it out…_

"No traps," Kuro replied. "Did Hades put you up to this? Does he know?"

"He has some odd fascination with your soul," Nemo told him, but he already knew that- Frankly, it made him feel somewhat violated. "But he also knows how strong you and Pit are. As I said- I know Pit wouldn't even consider this. But with you, I thought I may at least have a chance."

A thought suddenly occurred to the angel, and he glanced up at the sky.

"Wait… Viridi was watching me for a while there. She may have just heard everything you just-"

"I'm an Oracle, remember?" Nemo cut him off. "I have the ability to hide myself from all beings other than the goddess of Darkness- not that that matters any longer," his face darkened, "since Lady Medusa was destroyed." Kuro blinked, unsure of how to respond to that. "I can also grant that ability to others- on a small scale, anyway. As soon as you approached me, I cut you off from Mistress Viridi, Lady Palutena, even Lord Hades. It's just you and me- and Vis, if he's somewhere around here listening in to our conversation."

"You have this all figured out, don't you?" Kuro wondered flatly.

"Aye," Nemo agreed. "I… find it necessary to have all corners covered. As you're thinking about your best interests, I have to consider mine. This is also why no one noticed that Lord Hades had escaped."

"Wait, wait, wait," Kuro held up his hand. "YOU helped him escape?"

"Yes," Nemo nodded, but there was no sense of triumph or hostility in his voice.

"Why?" Unfortunately, the Oracle remained silent at the question, and Kuro quickly realized he wasn't going to budge on that subject. The angel let out a slow breath and shut his eyes for a moment. "You're serious that this is the only way I'll survive."

"Entirely serious."

"Then…" He grit his teeth for a moment, pondering his options. "Fine. I'll come with you."

"Still have a sense of that independence you had when you first came into existence, eh?" the Oracle noted, and Kuro opened his eyes. "That will serve you well, Kuro. Don't ever lose it." The angel had no response for that. "Anyway, then let's be headed back to the Underworld. I'm sure Lord Hades will be quite pleased that you've chosen a path of life."

_Pit is never going to forgive me for this_, Kuro mumbled silently as Nemo lifted his hand, a dark flame-like aura enveloping it, and moments later darkness engulfed Kuro's vision.

When it cleared, he found himself in a place he'd only physically been once before, and he quickly recognized the bare white trees, pale blue, glowing architecture, and flitting soft lights of the City of Souls situated somewhere in the Underworld.

"So, Hades set up his base here?" Kuro wondered as he quickly followed Nemo into a large shrine. "Why?"

"It… suits him the best for his plans of action," Nemo replied as they went down a corridor lit by dark torches. "He wants to be up front for the harvest, if you will."

"So, since souls come here when they pass from life to death…"

"Exactly," Nemo confirmed. "Well done, Kuro. You really are quite sharp." Again, Kuro wasn't sure how to respond. A few moments of awkward silence later, they came to a set of large double doors. Without a word, Nemo opened one and gestured for the angel to enter, and Kuro hesitantly complied with his bow gripped tight in his hand.

"Welcome back, Nemo!" a voice he recognized all too well greeted. "And… could it be? Is that actually Ptooey?" Kuro groaned.

"Apparently, he would rather be referred to by his new name," Nemo replied. "But he's agreed to join us."

"Really!" Hades sounded genuinely surprised- not that it was easy to tell among his exaggeration and sarcasm. "Kuro, is that true?" Kuro swallowed and took a deep breath.

"Yes, it's true."


End file.
